I>visioa 


Section 


V 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/fromniletoneboOOhosk 


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MAY  7  1913 


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^GICAL 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 

A  Discussion  of  the  Problem 
and  the  Route  of  the 

EXODUS 


y 

FRANKLIN  E.  HOSKINS,  D.D. 

SYRIA  MISSION,  BEIRUT,  SYRIA 


WITH  85  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA 

The  Sunday  School  Times  Company 

1912 


Copyright,  1912,  by 

Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  D.D. 


TO 

JOHN  EHRICH  PARMLY 

and  the  others  of  my  classmates  and  friends 
who  have  upheld  me  with  their  gifts  and  prayers  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  my  life  in  Syria,  the 
Promised  Land  of  the  Israelite  and  the 
Home  Land  of  the  Christian, 

I  dedicate  this  volume  as  a  token  of  my 
sincere  respect  and  imperishable 
affection. 


% 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Foreword .  1 1 

Introductory .  15 

I. — The  Problem  and  Route  of  the  Exodus .  19 

II. — Egyptian  Chronology  Before  and  After  the  Exodus .  27 

III.  — The  District  of  Sinai .  36 

IV.  — From  the  Ocean  to  Suez .  47 

V. — The  Springs  of  Moses .  56 

VI. — From  the  Wells  of  Moses  to  Elim .  62 

VII. — The  Date  of  the  Exodus .  74 

VIII. — The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai .  90 

IX. — From  Elim  to  Maghareh .  104 

X. — The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai .  116 

XI. — The  Bethel  Stones,  the  Cave  Shrine  and  the  Temple  of 

Serabit .  130 

XII. — Rephidim  and  the  Wady  Feiran .  143 

XIII.  — The  Oasis  of  Feiran — the  “Pearl  of  Sinai” .  153 

XIV.  — The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel .  163 

Parti.  The  Difficulties .  163 

Part  2.  The  Solution  of  the  Difficulties .  172 

XV. — The  Problem  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law .  189 

XVI. — From  the  Oasis  of  Feiran  to  the  Monastery  of  Saint  Kath¬ 
arine  at  Sinai .  199 

XVII. — The  Monastery  of  Saint  Katharine  at  Sinai .  205 

XVIII. — The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents .  213 

Part  1.  The  Division  of  the  Documents .  213 

Part  2.  The  Evolutionary  Hypothesis .  218 

Part  3.  The  Purpose  of  the  Pentateuch .  224 

Part  4.  The  Present  State  of  the  Documentary  Hypothesis  226 

XIX. — Ascent  of  Jebel  Musa .  237 

XX. — The  Soul  of  the  Hebrew  Race .  244 

XXI. — The  Biblical  Atmosphere  of  Sinai .  247 

XXII. — The  Rainfall  and  Water-supply  in  Sinai .  251 

XXIII. — Kadesh  Barnea  and  the  “Desert  of  the  Wanderings” .  256 

XXIV. — Aaron’s  Hill,  Kibroth  Hattaavah  and  the  Desert .  268 

XXV. — The  Oasis  of  Hazeroth .  279 

XXVI. — From  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber .  286 

XXVII. — How  We  Entered  Turkey .  298 

XXVIII. — From  Akaba  to  Ma’an.  . .  313 

XXIX. — The  Hedjaz  Pilgrimage  Railway .  324 

XXX. — The  Rock  City  of  Petra .  329 

XXXI. — Kadesh  Barnea,  Mount  Hor,  Edom  and  Moab .  339 

XXXII. — Madeba,  Moses  and  the  Mosaic  Map .  349 

XXXIII.— Nebo .  355 


Appendix  I. — Desert  Temperatures .  363 

Appendix  II. — Passages  of  Scripture  Specially  Referred  to .  364 


Index .  367 

5 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


1.  Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  at  Sinai . Frontispiece 

2.  Cairo — the  Modern  Mistress  of  the  Nile . Facing  page  26 

3.  The  Great  South  Arch  at  Karnak .  30 

4.  Our  Sinai  Cameleers  and  Sheikh  Hammadi .  44 

5.  Our  Sinai  Cameleers  Around  the  Campfire .  44 

6.  General  View  of  Suez .  48 

7.  The  Springs  of  Moses .  58 

8.  Sinai  Camel  Express .  62 

9.  Camels  “Afraid  of  Wetting  Their  Feet” .  no 

10.  Away  from  the  Sea  to  the  Wilderness  of  Sin .  no 

11.  Caravan  Crossing  the  Wilderness  of  Sin .  112 

12.  Gateway  at  Hanak  el-Lagm .  112 

13.  Maghareh — Tartir  ed  Dhami  Peak .  118 

14.  Maghareh — Mountain  View  Eastward .  118 

15.  Maghareh — Ancient  Turquoise  Mines .  120 

16.  Maghareh — One  of  the  Mines  Recently  Worked .  120 

17.  The  Oldest  Monument  in  Sinai .  130 

18.  Figures  of  Sopdu  and  Amenemhat  III .  132 

19.  Model  of  the  Temple  at  Serabit .  134 

20.  Stele  of  Hor-ur-ra  in  XII  Dynasty  Approach .  136 

21.  Oasis  of  Feiran — Wady  Feiran .  146 

22.  Oasis  of  Feiran — Site  of  Ancient  City .  146 

23.  Oasis  of  Feiran — Wady  Aleyat .  154 

24.  Oasis  of  Feiran — Looking  East .  154 

25.  Water  and  Shade .  156 

26.  Dwellers  in  the  Oasis .  156 

27.  An  Ancient  Tomb  and  Shrine .  158 

28.  Tombs  and  Graveyard  Among  the  Palms .  158 

29.  Palm  Trees  Crowding  the  Valley .  160 

30.  Feiran — el  Muharrad  Site  of  Monastery .  160 

31.  Sediment  of  Ancient  Lake .  162 

32.  Distant  View  of  Jebel  el  Biut .  162 

33.  El  Buwaib — Eastern  Entrance  to  the  Oasis .  190 

34.  Serbal  with  its  Jagged  Ridge .  192 

35.  Serbal  Seen  from  Wady  Selaf .  192 

36.  Wide  Space  and  Jebel  el-Biut .  194 

37.  Wide  Space  Among  the  Mountains .  194 

38.  Plain  of  er  Rahah  and  “Mountain  of  the  Law” .  196 

39.  Backward  View  from  Nagb  el  Hawa .  198 

40.  Another  View  in  Nagb  el  Hawa .  198 

41.  Nagb  el  Hawa — Granite  Boulders .  200 

42.  Jebel  es  Sufsafeh — “Mountain  of  the  Law” .  202 

43.  “Mountain  of  the  Law”  from  Above .  202 

44.  Plain  of  er  Rahah  seen  from  the  “Mountain  of  the  Law” .  204 

45.  Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  and  Gardens .  206 

7 


8  List  of  Illustrations 

46.  Pilgrim’s  Certificate . Facing  page  208 

47.  Monastery  Seen  from  the  Mountain  Stairway .  236 

48.  Plain  of  the  Cypress  and  Chapel  of  Elijah .  240 

49.  In  the  Heart  of  Sinai .  240 

50.  The  Only  Door  to  the  Monastery .  240 

51.  A  Bit  of  Sinai’s  Rugged  Shoulder .  240 

52.  Pilgrim  Gate  and  Stairway .  242 

53.  Aaron’s  Hill .  268 

54.  Tomb  of  Neby  Salih .  268 

55.  A  Wig  of  Stone .  276 

56.  The  “Hill  of  the  Hajj”  Pilgrims .  276 

57.  The  “Hill  of  the  Hajj”  Pilgrims .  278 

58.  The  Oasis  of  Hazeroth — Our  First  Glimpse .  278 

59.  The  Oasis  of  Hazeroth — White  Sands  and  Colored  Walls .  282 

60.  The  Oasis  of  Hazeroth .  282 

61.  Steep  Descent  into  the  Oasis .  284 

62.  Natural  Gateway  to  Hazeroth .  284 

63.  Pharaoh’s  Island .  296 

64.  The  Oasis,  Town  and  Gulf  of  Akaba .  296 

65.  Listening  to  the  Sultan’s  Message  at  Ma’an .  324 

66.  The  Meeting  and  Parting  of  the  Old  and  New .  326 

67.  The  Halt  for  the  Sunset  Prayer .  328 

68.  Petra — The  Gorge  of  the  Sik .  330 

69.  Petra — Pharaoh’s  Treasury — Temple  of  Isis .  332 

70.  Petra — The  Deir — or  Monastery .  334 

71.  Petra — High  Place — “Mazzabah” .  336 

72.  Petra — Sacrificial  Block  and  Altars .  338 

73.  Aaron’s  Tomb  on  Mount  Hor .  340 

74.  Tafileh  from  the  South .  342 

75.  Ahsa  Canyon .  344 

76.  The  Valleys  of  the  Arnon  Looking  East .  346 

77.  Descent  into  the  Arnon  Canyon .  348 

78.  Diban — the  Moabite  Stone .  350 

79.  Moab — “What  Travellers  Do” .  352 

80.  Moab — “What  a  Few  People  Do” .  352 

81.  Moab — “What  Most  People  Do” .  352 

82.  Madeba — General  View .  354 

83.  Madeba — Modern  Greek  Church .  356 

84.  Madeba — Remains  of  the  Famous  Map .  358 

85.  Jerusalem  Camp .  360 


PLATES 

Plate  I. — Camping  Places  and  Elevations . Facing  page  24 

Plate  II. — Mount  Nebo  and  Vicinity .  378 

Map  at  End  of  Volume .  378 


ABBREVIATIONS 


A.  C. — “  Auchincloss’  Chronology  of  the  Holy  Bible.” 

Van  Nostrand  Co.,  New  York,  1910. 

B.  A.  E. — “Breasted’s  History  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians.” 

Smith,  Elder  &  Co.,  London,  1910. 
E.  and  W.  A. — ‘‘Egypt  and  Western  Asia,”  King  and  Hall. 

S.  P.  C.  K.,  London,  1907. 

G.  H.  B.— “Hours  With  the  Bible,”  Geikie. 


Allen,  New  York,  1887. 

H.  D.  B. — “Hastings’  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,”  5  volumes. 

T.  &  T.  Clark,  Edinburgh,  1906. 

J.  V.  and  P. — “Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,”  Libbey  and  Hoskins. 

G.  P.  Putnam’s  Sons,  New  York,  1905. 

P.  D.  E. — “Desert  of  the  Exodus,”  Palmer. 

Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York,  1872. 

P.  R.  S. — “Researches  in  Sinai,”  Petrie. 

John  Murray,  London,  1905. 

T.  H.  E. — “  The  Historic  Exodus,”  Toffteen. 

Luzac  &  Co.,  London,  1909. 

T.  K.  B. — “Kadesh  Barnea,”  Trumbull. 

Hodder  &  Stoughton,  London,  1884. 


9 


FOREWORD 


This  book  has  grown  out  of  a  life  plan  of  the  author  to 
study  the  Bible  where  it  was  produced,  to  read  its  stories 
and  review  its  events  where  they  occurred.  A  residence 
of  twenty-eight  years  in  Syria  has  given  me  opportunities 
for  repeated  journeys  to  all  parts  of  the  Holy  Land,  to  the 
country  east  of  the  Jordan,  to  Edom,  Moab,  and  Petra.1 
More  recent  journeys  have  carried  me  into  the  Desert  of 
the  Exodus.  A  knowledge  of  the  Arabic  language,  ac¬ 
quired  during  the  past  twenty-four  years  while  a  member 
of  the  Syria  Mission,  has  opened  the  storehouse  of  cus¬ 
toms,  traditions  and  inner  life  of  the  people.  Ten  years’ 
laborious  study  upon  the  text  and  references  of  the  Arabic 
Bible,  in  the  Land  of  the  Book  itself,  have  yielded  pleas¬ 
ant  fruits  of  interpretation,  which  are  not  easily  accessible 
to  those  who  have  been  obliged  to  study  it  in  foreign  lands 
and  foreign  languages.  Acquaintance  with  many  of  the 
scholars  and  explorers  of  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  has 
enabled  me  to  follow  their  investigations  and  theories 
with  pleasure  and  with  ease.  And  finally,  an  extensive 
review  of  the  best  modern  literature  on  the  Pentateuch 
are  the  preparation  and  qualifications  I  have  for  the  task. 
Almost  everything  I  have  ever  read  or  studied  has  been 
weighed  and  modified  by  intimate  and  extended  knowledge 
of  the  land  and  its  people  at  the  localities  of  the  events 
themselves. 

The  greatest  volumes  ever  produced  on  the  Holy  Land 
are  Robinson’s  “  Biblical  Researches  ”  and  Thomson’s 

1  See  “Jordan  Valley  and  Petra.” 

11 


12 


Foreword 


“  Land  and  the  Book.”  Dr.  Robinson’s  “  Researches  ” 
were  the  fruit  of  thirty  years’  preparation  at  home  in  the 
United  States  and  of  personal  travels  in  the  Holy  Land 
in  1832,  1852  and  1856.  His  travelling  companion  and 
co-laborer  on  his  first  two  trips  was  the  Rev.  Eli  Smith, 
D.  D.,  and  on  his  third  trip  Dr.  Smith  and  Dr.  Wm.  Thom¬ 
son,  and  to  them,  with  Dr.  Robinson,  the  Christian  world 
is  under  lasting  obligation.  Robinson’s  “  Researches  ” 
have  been  the  source  and  authority  for  all  the  guide-books 
and  most  of  the  encyclopedia  articles  during  the  past  fifty 
years.  Dr.  Thomson’s  “  Land  and  the  Book  ”  has  done 
more  to  familiarize  the  Christian  world  with  the  Holy 
Land  and  the  Bible  than  any  other  hundred  books  ever 
written. 

Now,  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  followed  by  Dr.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck, 
were  the  translators  of  the  modern  Arabic  Bible.  It  has 
been  my  supreme  privilege  to  follow  their  footsteps,  al¬ 
beit  afar  off,  in  adding  something  to  the  value  of  that 
great  translation.  It  was  also  my  privilege  to  know 
Dr.  Thomson  toward  the  end  of  his  life  when  he  was  revis¬ 
ing  his  volumes  for  the  last  time.  And  it  will  be  another 
greater  privilege  if  in  this  volume  I  can  add,  in  the  light 
of  later  research,  some  small  increment  to  the  real  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  Bible. 

After  I  had  written  more  than  half  of  its  contents  in  a 
form  that  would  have  delighted  the  makers  of  a  cyclopedia 
and  other  books  of  reference,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  was 
writing  something  that  my  children  would  not  read  and 
which  might  prove  unattractive  to  my  classmates  and 
friends  to  whom  I  have  dedicated  the  volume.  I  had 
carefully  divided  the  subject  matter  into  two  main  divi¬ 
sions,  the  Problem  and  the  Route,  but  I  then  decided 
to  weave  the  whole  material  into  the  story  itself,  discuss¬ 
ing  the  various  problems  and  theories  and  hypotheses,  as 
it  were,  by  the  way. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  see  so  much  of  our  former  volumes, 


Foreword 


i3 


“  The  Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,”  made  use  of  by  Bible 
dictionaries  and  even  by  the  new  Encyclopedia  Britannica, 
but  it  will  be  a  greater  pleasure  if  I  can  give  to  my  children 
and  my  friends  and  to  perhaps  some  other  students  of  the 
Bible  some  common-sense  clues  which  will  enable  them  to 
find  their  way  pleasantly  and  successfully  through  the 
mazes  of  theories  and  hypotheses  and  controversies  which, 
in  every  age,  seem  to  mass  themselves  around  the  Bible. 
So  I  shall  discuss  the  matter  of  chronology  the  moment  we 
reach  Egypt.  The  date  of  the  Exodus  I  will  review  when 
we  spend  a  Sabbath  at  Elim  under  its  palm  trees.  The 
important  question  concerning  the  number  of  people  who 
went  out  in  the  Exodus  I  will  take  care  of  when  we  reach 
the  Oasis  of  Feiran,  and  I  shall  leave  the  matter  of  the 
documents  and  their  theories  for  some  quiet  hours  in  the 
famous  Library  of  the  Convent  on  Mount  Sinai.  I  shall 
make  no  apology  for  frequent  repetition  of  some  of  the  more 
important  ideas  whenever  they  will  throw  additional  light 
or  receive  greater  confirmation  from  the  facts  or  problems 
under  special  consideration.  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  sug¬ 
gest  where  the  hasty  reader  may  skip  a  chapter  if  he 
wishes  simply  to  follow  the  narrative  or  the  Problem, 
and  in  this  way  I  trust  that  I  may  get  both  my  children  and 
my  friends  safely  through  the  volume. 

Of  the  eighty-five  illustrations,  five  are  reproduced  by 
permission  of  Professor  W.  M.  F.  Petrie,  from  his  “  Re¬ 
searches  in  Sinai,”  twelve  are  the  joint  work  of  Professor 
Libbey  and  the  author,  two  by  Professor  Myers  and  the 
author,  fifty-eight  from  original  photographs  by  the  author, 
and  the  remaining  eight  from  sources  indicated  on  the 
photos  themselves. 

My  sincere  thanks  are  due  to  Professors  Libbey  and 
Hoskins,  of  Princeton  University,  and  to  Professor  W. 
Horace  Hoskins,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  for 
their  assistance  in  putting  this  volume  through  the  press. 


INTRODUCTORY 


A  few  years  ago  a  young  woman  about  to  visit  the 
Holy  Land  called  on  an  old  lady  friend  who  loved  her 
Bible  and  read  it  frequently  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
told  her  that  she  soon  hoped  to  see  Jerusalem,  Bethlehem, 
Galilee  and  all  the  places  associated  with  the  life  of  Christ. 
The  old  lady  put  down  her  work,  removed  her  silver- 
rimmed  spectacles  and  exclaimed:  “Well  now!  I  knew 
all  those  places  were  in  the  Bible,  but  I  never  thought 
of  them  being  on  the  earth!” 

It  may,  therefore,  interest  many  of  the  readers  of  this 
volume  to  know  that  the  Desert  of  the  Exodus  has  an 
actual  existence  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  that  the 
Route  of  the  Exodus  is  being  mapped  and  studied  and 
photographed  by  enthusiastic  scholars  and  travelers  with 
results  as  interesting  and  as  brilliant  in  their  way  as  at¬ 
tended  the  modern  exploration  of  the  Holy  Land  and 

Egypt ... 

It  brings  the  doings  of  the  Children  of  Israel  in  the 

Pentateuch  much  closer  to  modern  life  when  we  realize 
that  the  Route  of  the  Exodus  is  cut  in  its  first  section  by 
the  Suez  Canal  (see  map,  p.  378),  one  of  the  greatest 
human  enterprises  on  our  planet;  that  the  Mecca  Pil¬ 
grimage  Railway  follows  that  Route  in  its  upper  stretches 
from  a  point  near  the  Red  Sea,  Zalmonah,  northward  for 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  through  Edom  and  Moab ;  and 
again,  from  Rabbath  Ammon  another  62  miles  to  Edrei, 
once  the  capital  of  Og,  King  of  Bashan  (Num.  21:  33),  but 

15 


i6 


Introductory 


now  a  railroad  center  where  the  three  lines  from  the  sea- 
coast  at  Carmel,  from  Damascus  and  from  Mecca  meet. 
Many  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  a  telegraph  wire  now 
stretches  through  the  desert  from  Suez  to  Tor,  a  little 
port  just  below  Mount  Sinai;  that  another  wire  connects 
Damascus  via  Ma’an,  with  Akaba  opposite  Ezion  Geber 
on  the  Red  Sea;  that  a  steam  launch  now  navigates  the 
Dead  Sea  and  the  Jordan  River  below  Jericho,  and  that 
tourist  agencies  have  added  “  Sinai  and  the  Desert  of  the 
Exodus,  Edom  and  Moab  ”  to  their  wall  signs  and  tourist 
routes. 

Many  journeys  reaching  through  many  years  in  the 
Holy  Land  and  the  trans- Jordan  country  preceded  this 
latest  journey  through  the  Desert  of  the  Exodus.  It 
came  through  the  kindness  of  the  Rev.  John  F.  Goucher, 
D.  D.,  the  founder  of  Goucher  College,  Baltimore,  who 
was  also  accompanied  by  Mr.  S.  Earl  Taylor,  of  New 
York,  in  the  spring  of  1909.  We  followed  the  Route  of 
the  Children  of  Israel  from  Egypt  through  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula,  Mount  Seir,  Edom  and  Moab,  Amman  and  the 
Jabbok,  to  the  Jordan  and  Jericho.  It  was  a  journey  for 
me  of  85  days,  in  which  we  traveled  1900  miles;  not  a  big 
record  until  the  reader  realizes  that  109  hours  of  the  journey 
we  accomplished  on  camels,  the  slowest  mode  of  locomo¬ 
tion  in  the  Orient — less  than  three  miles  an  hour — and 
another  162  hours  on  horses,  at  a  little  more  than  four 
miles  an  hour. 

The  desert  section  of  about  1000  miles  on  camels  and 
horses  occupied  40  days — a  day  for  each  year  of  the  Exodus. 
We  enjoyed  perfect  health  and  came  home  without  a 
single  accident  or  loss  to  any  member  of  our  large  caravan. 
Through  the  desert  we  had  as  many  as  22  camels  and  16 
cameleers,  while  on  our  way  from  Akaba  to  Petra  we  had 
a  guard  of  19  soldiers,  which,  with  our  muleteers  and  camp 
servants,  made  33  persons,  while  the  horses,  mules,  camels 
and  donkeys  numbered  38,  or  71  thirsty  mouths  to  be  pro- 


Introductory 


17 


vided  for  in  a  land  where  water  was  more  precious  than 
gold.  Out  of  twenty  camps  between  Suez  and  Akaba, 
ten  were  absolutely  waterless.  Twice  the  camels  went 
three  days’  journey  without  a  drop  of  water,  and  once 
they  were  forced  to  go  four  days’  journey  to  the  next 
watering-place. 

We  camped  literally  within  the  Old  Testament,  pitch¬ 
ing  our  tents  thirty-two  times  between  the  Nile  and  the 
Jordan.  It  was  a  physical  review  of  some  of  the  greatest 
events  and  characters  in  human  history.  There  was  a 
strange  thrill  in  dating  letters  from  “  The  Jabbok,  Genesis 
32:  22,”  where  Jacob  wrestled  with  the  Angel;  from  “  The 
Nile,  Gen.  41:1,”  where  Joseph  first  came  into  contact 
with  Pharaoh;  from  “  Sinai,  Exodus  33:  n,”  where  Jeho¬ 
vah  spake  with  Moses  face  to  face,  and  from  “  Nebo, 
Deut.  34:  6,”  in  the  land  of  Moab,  where  Moses  had  his 
only  view  of  the  Promised  Land,  where  “  the  angels  of 
God  upturned  the  sod”  for  that  lonely  and  unknown  grave. 
While  it  cannot  be  insisted  upon  too  sharply  that  the  Exodus 
is  no  imaginary  journey,  there  is  a  sense  in  which  the  dear 
old  lady  was  right,  for  so  many  of  these  events  and  places 
belong  to  the  geography  of  the  human  soul  in  its  exile,  its 
bondage,  its  wanderings,  its  glimpses  of  the  Promised  Land 
and  its  return  to  home  and  heaven  at  last. 

Crossing  the  Suez  arm  of  the  Red  Sea  and  journeying 
“  three  days  in  the  wilderness,”  we  spent  a  quiet  Sabbath 
among  the  palms  of  Elim  (Ex.  15:  27)  and  drank  from  its 
springs  of  water.  Another  six  days’  journey  carried  us 
along  “  by  the  Red  Sea,  through  the  wilderness  of  Sin,” 
past  Rephidim  to  Mount  Sinai,  on  whose  sublime  summit 
we  spent  a  part  of  our  second  Sabbath.  Another  five  camps 
carried  us  down  from  Sinai  past  Hazeroth,  through  the 
Wilderness  of  Par  an,  and  well  up  along  the  coast  of  the  Gulf 
of  Akaba  to  Elath  and  Ezion  Geber.  Crossing  the  great 
cleft  of  the  Arabah,  south  of  the  Dead  Sea,  we  climbed  into 
the  mountains  of  Edom,  and  from  the  summit  of  the  tradi- 
2 


i8 


Introductory 


tional  Hor  had,  like  Aaron,  our  first  glimpse  of  the  Prom¬ 
ised  Land.  Then  followed  a  series  of  camps  by  the  Arnon, 
along  the  breezy  plateau  of  Moab,  culminating  in  a  never- 
to-be-forgotten  Sabbath  on  Nebo  itself,  with  its  matchless 
view  embracing  so  much  of  all  succeeding  Bible  history, 
not  to  mention  Greece  and  Rome  and  the  empires  lasting 
till  the  present  hour.  For  over  against  the  sky  line,  neg¬ 
lecting  every  other  feature  in  the  wide  expanse  as  seen 
from  Nebo,  rises  the  Mount  of  Olives,  where  Russia,  Aus¬ 
tria,  Germany  and  the  other  Christian  nations  of  the  West 
are  still  striving  for  possession  of  the  Promised  Land,  while 
the  real  owners,  the  Jews,  are  scattered  over  the  face  of  the 
earth.  It  is  a  small  and  unimportant  looking  land  upon 
a  map  of  the  world  and  yet  so  great  in  human  history. 
After  Nebo  came  some  lovely  camps  by  the  quiet  waters 
of  Jabbok,  among  the  woody  glades  of  Gilead,  on  the 
“  stormy  banks  ”  of  the  Jordan,  which  marks  the  close 
of  the  Exodus  and  the  beginning  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan. 


FROM  THE  NILE  TO  NEBO 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  PROBLEM  AND  THE  ROUTE  OF  THE  EXODUS 

The  problem  of  the  Exodus  involves  (i)  a  discussion  of 
Chronology  and  (2)  the  date  of  the  Exodus,  (3)  a  glance 
at  the  documents  and  their  theories  which  bear  upon  the 
historicity  of  the  movement,  and  (4)  a  definite  opinion 
concerning  the  number  of  people  who  went  out  on  this 
famous  journey.  These  involve  some  knowledge  of  the 
historical  background  of  the  Exodus  as  seen  in  Egypt, 
Sinai  and  Syria  at  the  dates  agreed  upon.  And  those 
who  have  not  followed  closely  the  course  of  exploration  and 
investigation  will  be  amazed  at  the  flood  of  light  that  has 
been  let  in  upon  all  that  section  of  human  history. 

The  Problem,  necessarily  difficult  in  itself,  has  been 
complicated  by  a  misreading  of  the  Bible,  by  the  confu¬ 
sion  of  mental  processes  and  ideas  which  belong  to  other 
lands  and  centuries,  by  absolute  misconceptions  gained 
through  art  and  song,  and  by  the  exaggeration  of  a  num¬ 
ber  of  subsidiary  and  minor  problems  which  vanish  with 
the  first  breath  of  the  desert  air.  Many  are  apt  to  think 
of  the  Children  of  Israel  as  spending  forty  years  on  the  road 
to  Canaan,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  “  thirty-nine  of  these 
years  were  spent  in  camp,  and  only  one  year  was  con¬ 
sumed  in  covering  the  entire  journey  of  1 100  miles  between 
Raamses  and  the  River  Jordan.”  Others  are  apt  to  think 
of  the  Exodus  as  having  occurred  in  such  a  remote  and 

19 


20 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


vaguely  indefinite  past  that  we  can  never  know  anything 
accurate  of  its  exact  location  in  time.  While  authorities 
have  differed  to  the  extent  of  ioo  or  even  200  years,  yet  it 
is  certain  that  each  fresh  examination  of  the  problem  in 
the  light  of  the  most  recent  discoveries  brings  us  closer 
to  the  actual  dates.  There  are  great  difficulties  in  settling 
all  dates  for  events  the  other  side  of  the  Christian  era,  but 
the  data  for  Bible  dates  are  superior  to  all  other  human 
records.  Scholars  have  followed  up  ingenious  clues,  have 
made  such  good  use  of  known  astronomical  facts  and  the 
known  sequence  of  Jewish  feasts  that  they  venture  to  fix 
not  only  the  year,  but  even  the  month  and  the  day  when  the 
Children  of  Israel  left  Raamses  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
also  the  date  of  the  crossing  of  the  Jordan  and  their  en¬ 
trance  into  the  Promised  Land.1 

Great  confusion  of  thought  has  gathered  round  the 
words  “  miracle  ”  and  “  supernatural.”  As  a  recent  writer2 
has  well  said:  “  Everything  we  admire  is  literally  a  miracle ,” 
and  among  primitive  peoples  of  all  nations  almost  anything 
unusual  was  taken  as  “  a  sign  and  a  wonder.”  “To  most 
ages  of  mankind  there  has  been  no  dividing  line  between  the 
natural  and  the  non-natural;  so  much  is  inexplicable  to 
the  untrained  mind  that  no  trouble  was  taken  to  define 
whether  an  event  would  happen  in  the  natural  course  or 
not.”  We  modern  thinkers  have  practically  abolished 
the  distinction  between  the  “  natural  ”  and  the  “  super¬ 
natural.”  We  now  distinguish  sharply  between  the 
co-natural  and  non-natural,  and  have  almost  refused  to 
use  the  word  supernatural  because  of  the  confusion  of  mind 
occasioned  by  its  mistaken  uses.  “  A  strong  east  wind 
drives  the  Red  Sea  back;  another  wind  blows  up  a  flock  of 
quails;  cutting  a  rock  brings  a  water  supply  to  view,  and 
the  writers  of  these  accounts  record  such  matters  as 
wondrous  benefits  of  the  timely  action  of  natural  causes.” 

1  Auchincloss,  April  19,  1477,  and  March  21,  1437  B.  C. 

2  Petrie,  “Researches  in  Sinai,”  p.  201. 


The  Problem  and  the  Route  of  the  Exodus  21 


Modern  believers  in  Divine  providence— and  no  one  in 
our  day  can  accept  either  the  blind  chance  theory  of  the 
universe  or  that  we  are  helpless  automata — see  incon¬ 
testable  evidence  of  God’s  care  in  the  coincidence  of  these 
wonderful  events  with  the  desperate  needs  of  the  Children 
of  Israel.  With  more  light  from  many  sources  we  shall 
modify  our  conceptions  of  many  of  these  occurrences, 
but  the  facts  will  stand  as  long  as  the  granite  cliffs  of 
Sinai. 

The  passage  of  the  Akaba  arm  of  the  Red  Sea  at  the 
outset,  the  appearance  of  the  quails,  and  the  crossing  of 
the  Jordan  forty  years  later,  are  by  no  means  the  greatest 
difficulties  and  wonders  of  the  Exodus.  Those  who  have 
wandered  over  the  sand  dunes  of  the  desert,  have  lost 
themselves  among  the  shallow  lagoons  and  have  watched 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides  among  the  inlets  about  Suez, 
will  have  little  difficulty  in  conceiving  what  may  have  hap¬ 
pened  in  combination  with  “  a  strong  east  wind.”  There 
is  good  authority  for  an  entire  stoppage  of  the  flow  of  the 
Jordan  river  by  a  landslide  near  Tell  ed  Damieh  during  the 
13th  century,1  and  those  who  saw  people  walk  across  the 
brink  of  Niagara  Falls  when  the  river-bed  was  left  almost 
dry  by  reason  of  an  ice-gorge  above  will  not  tarry  long 
on  the  passage  of  the  Jordan. 

After  we  left  Elim  and  were  approaching  the  sea-coast 
one  of  our  cameleers  suddenly  rushed  ahead  of  us  some 
twenty-five  yards,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  returned  with  a 
live  quail  in  his  hands  which  he  had  just  caught.  This 
event,  occurring  at  the  very  region  where  the  Children  of 
Israel  were  so  abundantly  fed  by  the  flocks  of  quails  wearied 
by  their  flight  over  the  Akaba  arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  was  a 
wholly  unexpected  exemplification  of  the  phenomena  of  the 
Bible.  It  was  the  same  east  wind  blowing  over  the  same 
sheet  of  water  into  the  same  maze  of  valleys  that  brought 

1  A.  D.  1267.  See  “Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly,”  July,  1895, 
pp.  253-261. 


22 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


us  our  quail  so  weary  as  to  be  easily  secured  by  the  Bedawy 
of  to-day.  There  is  abundant  confirmation  from  other 
sources  that  our  experience  was  by  no  means  unique. 

The  Bible  record  is  complete  as  to  the  Route  of  the 
Exodus,  but  many  fail  to  realize  this  because  the  history 
of  the  journey  is  scattered  through  six  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  books,  the  record  changing  back  and  forth  from  one 
place  to  another  nearly  a  hundred  times.  Mr.  W.  S. 
Auchincloss,  C.  E.,  in  his  little  booklet,  “To  Canaan  in 
One  Year,”1  has  made  a  scholarly  and  valuable  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  Problem  of  the  Exodus  in  assembling  and 
harmonizing  all  the  Bible  references  and  illustrating  the 
Route  by  an  Itinerary  Map.  In  order  to  bring  out  the 
names  of  places  with  greater  clearness  he  has  omitted  the 
mountain  ranges  and  gorges,  but  “  in  plotting  the  line 
of  march  both  their  location  and  the  gradients  overcome 
have  been  carefully  taken  into  account,  hence  the  course 
shown  is  topographically  correct.”  This  map  and  its  ac¬ 
companying  letter  press  was  one  of  the  most  valuable  books 
of  reference  that  we  carried  into  the  wildeness. 

For  convenience  we  will  divide  the  Route  into  four  sec¬ 
tions:  (i)  Raamses  to  Sinai,  (2)  Sinai  to  Akaba,  (3)  Akaba 
to  Kadesh  Barnea  and  return,  and  (4)  Akaba  to  Jericho. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  first  section  of  the 
route  from  Raamses  to  Sinai  is  known  perfectly,  and  the 
recovery  of  most  of  the  ancient  names  is  simply  a  matter 
of  time.  The  last  section  of  the  route  from  Elath  on  the 
Gulf  of  Akaba  to  Jericho  is  also  well  known,  and  it  is  of 
enchanting  interest  to  note  that  all  the  most  prominent 
towns  mentioned  in  the  books  of  Exodus  and  Numbers 
retain  their  ancient  names  to  this  present  hour.  Ma’an, 
Dibon,  Madeba,  Heshbon,  Amman,  Edrei,  Kenath,  Salchad 
and  Jericho  are  all  found  on  our  modern  maps  and  are  well- 
known  towns  to  travellers  in  that  region.  It  is  perhaps  not 
too  much  to  say  that  finally  nine-tenths  of  all  the  names 
1  D.  Van  Nostrand  Company,  Murray  Street,  New  York. 


The  Problem  and  the  Route  of  the  Exodus  23 


will  be  recovered,  clinging  to  the  ruins,  the  valleys  and  the 
mountains  of  that  region. 

The  section  of  the  Route  between  Sinai  and  Ezion  Geber 
is  now  well  known,  but  because  it  is  an  almost  uninhabited 
desert  the  recovery  of  these  ancient  names  has  not  yet 
progressed  very  far.  But  we  have  great  pleasure  in 
printing  with  Chapters  XXV  and  XXVI  some  almost 
unique  views  of  Hazeroth  and  the  country  about  Ezion 
Geber. 

The  Loop  section  of  the  Route  between  Ezion  Geber 
and  Elath  is  the  least  well-explored  portion.  It  contains 
the  well-known  names  of  Kadesh  Barnea  and  Mount  Hor, 
where  Aaron  died.  Thirty-eight  years  of  the  journey  were 
spent  about  Kadesh  Barnea,  and  it  is  here  if  anywhere 
that  actual  remains  of  the  Exodus  will  some  day  be  found. 
The  site  of  Kadesh  Barnea  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
dispute,  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  modern 
Ain  Kadis,  with  its  copious  spring,  several  wells  and  pools, 
is  really  the  ancient  Kadesh.  An  equally  vigorous  dispute 
still  continues  concerning  the  identification  of  Mount  Hor. 
Some  accept  the  Jebel  Madurah,  not  far  from  Kadesh,  but 
tradition  as  old  as  Josephus,  accepted  by  Jerome  and  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  unanimous  traditions  of  the  Muhammadan 
and  Jewish  writings,  identify  Mount  Hor  with  the  Jebel 
Neby  Harun,  about  six  miles  south  of  Petra.1  The  Petra 
Mount  Hor  is  by  far  the  most  imposing  mountain  (5900 
feet),  and  the  view  from  its  summit  embraces  much  more 
of  the  Promised  Land  than  Aaron  could  have  seen  from 
Jebel  Madurah. 

Out  of  about  eighty  place  names  on  or  near  the  route  as 
plotted  by  Mr.  Auchincloss,  at  least  forty  are  known  and 
identified  with  all  certainty;  ten  more  are  tentatively 
located;  another  ten  have  been  conjectured,  leaving  only 
twenty  of  minor  importance  that  are  practically  lost. 
Ancient  names  often  itinerate  with  the  changing  currents 

1  See  “  Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,”  Libbey  and  Hoskins,  Vol.  II,  p.  243. 


24 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


of  human  life  about  a  certain  locality,  so  that  many  of  the 
names  uncertain  or  lost  will  be  picked  up  clinging  to 
natural  features  or  obscure  ruins.  A  number  of  the 
camping-places  of  the  Children  of  Israel  were  named  from 
events  occurring  within  the  camp  and  may  have  left  no 
trace  in  the  wilderness. 

No  account  of  the  Route  that  I  have  had  access  to  gives 
any  clear  account  of  the  wide  range  of  elevations  met  and 
overcome  by  the  Children  of  Israel  between  the  Nile  and 
the  Jordan  at  Jericho.  Professor  Libbey  and  I  called  at¬ 
tention  to  this  matter  in  “  The  Jordan  Valley  and  Petra  ” 
(Vol.  I,  p.  34)  concerning  the  East  Jordan  section  of  the 
Route,  and  here  in  the  Sinai  section  we  met  with  the 
same  interesting  surprise.  The  Sinai  range,  lifting  itself 
to  over  8500  feet,  carried  the  Children  of  Israel  to  camps  at 
Sinai,  5200  feet  above  the  sea.  Then  followed  a  great  drop 
again  to  the  Akaba  arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  followed  by  a  rise 
to  over  5600  feet  again,  before  we  struck  the  great  trans- 
Jordan  rifts  which  are  so  striking  in  the  fourth  and  last 
section  of  the  Route.  The  Children  of  Israel  lived  eleven 
months  at  Sinai,  over  5000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  this 
fact  may  have  given  rise  to  the  strange  suggestion,  wholly 
unsupported,  that  the  manna  was  snow,  which  they  had 
never  before  seen. 

The  elevation  of  Kadesh  Barnea  (Ain  Kadis)  is  not 
given  in  any  volume  that  I  have  had  access  to,  but  its 
climate  must  be  much  nearer  that  of  Egypt  than  the 
climate  of  Sinai. 

A  glance  at  plate  I  (facing  this  page)  will  give  in  graphic 
form  a  clearer  idea  of  what  is  meant.  The  dotted  line 
represents  the  general  height  of  our  course,  and  the  black 
bars,  our  camping-places .  The  heavy  black  dotted  line  at  the 
Ahsa  and  the  Arnon  represents  the  extreme  depth  of  these 
rifts,  where  they  empty  their  streams  into  the  Dead  Sea. 
The  Sinai  section  gives  almost  exactly  the  Route  of  the 
Israelites,  excepting  Kadesh  Barnea.  The  Edom  portion 


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The  Problem  and  the  Route  of  the  Exodus  25 


gives  the  heights  overcome,  but  not  the  stations,  while 
the  Moab  section  again  combines  the  elevations  and  the 
well-known  stopping  places,  the  Arnon,  Dibon,  Madeba, 
Nebo,  the  Jabbok  and  Jericho.  From  Suez  to  Sinai  repre¬ 
sents  a  rise  of  5200  feet,  then  a  steep  drop  to  sea-level. 
The  climb  from  Akaba  to  the  highlands  of  Edom  is  a  steep 
one,  and  while  the  Route  of  the  Israelites  did  not  include 
our  ascent  and  descent  to  Petra,  it  did  include  the  crossing 
of  the  titanic  rifts  of  the  Ahsa  and  the  Arnon,  and  the 
final  plunges  through  the  Jabbok  and  below  the  sea-level 
to  the  Jordan,  close  to  the  Dead  Sea.  Between  the  highest 
point  (5700  feet)  in  Edom  and  the  Jordan  is  a  range  of  over 
7000  feet  of  perpendicular  changes,  which  include  a  variety 
of  climate,  vegetation  and  atmosphere  that  includes  almost 
as  much  as  one  of  the  larger  continents  would  give  us. 
Hence  the  fullness  of  Bible  imagery  from  the  shadows  of 
the  rock  in  a  weary  land  to  the  storm  of  rain  and  hail, 
thunder  and  lightning  and  snow  which  sweep  over  the 
mountains  of  Edom  in  the  winter.1 

Taking  my  stand  on  the  historicity  of  the  Exodus,  I  am 
just  as  clear  that  there  was  only  one  route  possible  for 
such  a  mass  of  people,  that  it  was  settled  absolutely  by 
the  water,  and  that,  contrary  to  the  common  conception, 
it  was  along  a  well-known  Route  of  Antiquity,  an  old 
road  from  Egypt  to  Edom,  Arabia  and  Mesopotamia. 
The  Route  fits  the  documents  as  the  key  fits  its  own  lock. 

Many  of  the  difficulties  and  controversies  stand  or  fall 
with  the  numbers  of  the  Israelites.  We  claim  to  throw  a 
new  light  on  this  problem.  The  two  and  a  half  or  three 
million  estimate  must  give  place  to  much  more  reasonable 
figures,  and  with  this  change  come  other  interesting 
results. 

That  the  Route  was  not  simply  a  passing  track  in  the 
wilderness,  either  before  or  after  the  Exodus,  can  be  gath¬ 
ered  from  some  of  the  antiquities  picked  up  along  the  line, 

1  See  “Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,”  Vol.  II,  p.  12,  for  a  storm  in  Edom. 


26 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


which  are  only  a  foretaste  of  what  we  may  hope  to  see  in 
coming  years.  The  turquoise  mines  at  Maghareh,  a  new 
Semitic  ritual  at  Serabit  and  a  new  language  in  Semitic 
script  used  by  the  Syrian  miners — all  before  the  Exodus. 
Then  in  later  times  one  of  the  most  famous  Bible  manu¬ 
scripts  (the  Sinai  tic),  picked  up  in  the  old  monastery  at 
Sinai.  Then  the  wonderful  picture  of  ancient  life  at  Petra, 
with  its  High  Places  dating  from  pre-Exodus  times,  the 
best  and  only  ones  in  existence;  the  Moabite  Stone  of 
Dibon  and  the  Mosaic  Map  at  Madeba  are  enough  to 
kindle  the  expectation  and  imagination  of  all  who  love  the 
Bible.  These  are  facts  that  affect  both  Christian  and  Jew. 
No  one  has  felt  more  keenly  than  the  latter  the  ruthless 
way  in  which  self-appointed  critics  have  attempted  to 
tear  away  the  heart  of  Hebrew  history  as  it  throbs  with 
memories  of  the  bondage  and  the  desert  back  to  the  Prom¬ 
ised  Land.  All  believers  in  the  mission  of  the  Hebrew 
people — that  standing  miracle  of  human  history — have  a 
living  interest  in  this  problem,  and  it  is  for  these  I  write. 
Let  us,  then,  in  imagination  transport  ourselves  to  the 
mysterious  country  of  the  Nile,  and  take  a  glance  back¬ 
ward  through  the  gate  of  chronology  into  the  morning  of 
human  history,  and  trace  in  outline  the  connection  be¬ 
tween  Egypt  and  Sinai  before  we  start  on  our  actual  journey. 


Cairo,  the  modern  Mistress  of  the  Nile,  with  the  famous  Mosque  of  Muhammad  Ali  and  the  Citadel  in  the  foreground 


■4k 


CHAPTER  II 


EGYPTIAN  CHRONOLOGY  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  THE 

EXODUS 

The  average  traveller  from  the  United  States  or  the 
western  parts  of  Europe,  whenever  he  is  about  to  leave 
home  to  journey  in  the  East,  carries  with  him  a  number  of 
loosely  defined  conceptions  according  to  which  the  most 
important  questions  of  the  universe  are  in  some  way  con¬ 
nected  with  automobiles,  aeroplanes  and  political  parties, 
but  when  once  he  has  passed  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  and 
touches  any  of  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  he  is 
forced  to  abandon  his  complacent  disregard  of  the  remote 
past,  and  acknowledge  that  both  he  and  his  modern  prob¬ 
lems  are  but  a  small  and  insignificant  portion  of  the  long 
ages  of  human  history.  Ben  Jonson  remarked  years  ago 
that  the  end  of  all  travel  was  to  see  the  shores  of  this 
wonderful  inland  sea.  When  the  traveller  sets  foot  in 
Egypt  he  has  left  behind  him  almost  everything  this  side 
the  Christian  Era,  and  is  face  to  face  with  customs  and  types 
of  men  who  form  unbroken  links  between  the  present  hour 
and  all  the  millenniums  of  human  history.  Ancient  kings 
and  peoples  speak  to  him  in  the  carving  of  a  finger-ring, 
the  pattern  of  a  bracelet,  the  actual  stones  and  scarabs  of 
a  necklace.  A  thousand  inscriptions  on  obelisk,  temple 
gate,  temple  walls,  tombs,  sphinx  and  pyramids  which  line 
the  banks  of  Father  Nile,  call  the  careless  parvenu  to  stop 
and  think.  Here  the  problems  of  life  are  not  the  automo¬ 
bile  and  aeroplane,  but  the  great  problems  of  time  as  it 

Note. — Those  who  wish  to  follow  out  the  archaeological  phases  of  the 
Problem  of  the  Exodus  may  read  Chapters  VII,  XIV  and  XVII  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  this. 


27 


28 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


flows,  like  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  through  all  human  his¬ 
tory.  Hence  in  Egypt  every  problem  of  the  past  is  in  some 
way  related  to  chronology. 

About  the  sixth  century  A.  D.,  when  the  Christian  Era 
was  invented,  we  cross  the  frontier  which  divides  the 
modern  from  the  ancient  world.  Seated  upon  the  oldest 
Christian  ruins  in  Egypt,  the  Monastery  at  Bawit,  we  look 
back  and  down  a  long  and  unbroken  vista  of  new  discov¬ 
eries  stretching  through  more  than  twenty-five  centuries. 
Then  the  great  stream  divides.  The  Egyptian  arm  ex¬ 
tends  unbroken  through  another  2000  years,  while  the  larger 
Babylonian  arm  swings  off  eastward  to  a  still  more  remote 
past.  Within  this  great  stream  of  Time  lie  at  least  7000 
years  of  human  history,  and  it  has  been  the  dream  and 
effort  of  scholars  in  all  ages  to  erect  time-marks  along  its 
banks  by  means  of  which  they  would  slowly  work  their 
way  back  to  the  remotest  sources  of  human  life  and  ac¬ 
tivity.  The  Greeks  gave  us  the  name  “  chronology  ”  for 
the  science  of  time,  but  both  the  Egyptians  and  the  Baby¬ 
lonians  worked  at  the  problem  for  thousands  of  years  be¬ 
fore  the  Greek  people  was  born. 

Every  chronological  system  proposed  requires  some 
fixed  event  or  point  in  time  from  which  all  other  dates  may 
be  reckoned.  We  are  all  more  or  less  familiar  with  the 
interesting  history  of  our  Christian  Era  which  begins  with 
the  birth  of  Christ,  and  of  our  custom  of  dating  all  history 
A.  D.  and  B.  C.,  but  few  recall  the  fact  that  this  system 
was  not  invented  until  the  sixth  century,  by  one  Dio¬ 
nysius  Exiguus,  and  was  several  hundred  years  coming 
into  general  use.  Fewer  still  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  per¬ 
haps  a  score  of  other  eras  have  been  invented  and  made 
use  of  and  abandoned,  most  of  which  lie  between  the  foun¬ 
dation  of  Rome,  A.  U.  C.  753  B.  C.,  and  the  Muhammadan 
era  dating  from  the  Hegira,  or  flight  from  Mecca  to  Medina, 
A.  D.  622.  China,  India,  Chaldea,  Tyre,  Antioch  and 
Constantinople  all  had  their  eras;  so  had  Alexander, 


Egyptian  Chronology  Before  and  After  the  Exodus  29 

Caesar,  Augustus  and  the  Seleucidae.  These  are  all  now 
located  in  history  and  reduced  to  the  common  era,  the 
era  of  Christ,  the  era  of  the  Incarnation,  when  heaven 
touched  the  earth  in  the  person  of  the  Son  of  God. 

The  Jews  have  made  in  comparatively  modern  times  an 
era  of  their  own  in  which  they  have  erroneously  fixed  the 
foundation  of  the  world  as  5672  years  ago.  The  Old 
Testament  contains  a  great  many  chronological  notices, 
but,  as  a  whole,  no  chronological  system.  An  attempt 
seems  to  have  been  made  at  one  time  to  use  the  Exodus 
as  a  starting-point.  The  notices  in  Gen.  15:  13,  Ex.  12:  40 
and  1  Kings  6:  1  seem  to  belong  to  calculations  connected 
with  such  an  era. 

If  ever  human  research  can  fix  the  date  of  man’s  appear¬ 
ance  upon  this  planet,  then  we  shall  have  solved  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  problems  of  the  intellectual  life  of  man. 
The  fixing  of  the  date  of  the  Exodus  is  a  much  more  simple 
problem  because,  as  we  shall  see  later,  it  lies  more  than 
half-way  down  the  stream  of  human  history. 

Looking  back  into  the  most  ancient  world  we  are  sure  of 
several  great  facts.  There  were  two  primal  civilizations.  As 
early  as  4000  B.  C.  there  existed  a  high  state  of  civilization 
in  both  Babylonia  and  Egypt.  Then  for  2000  years  each 
of  these  great  civilizations  marched  upon  its  own  solitary 
way  without  meeting  the  other.  There  is  no  hint  of  any 
collision  between  them  as  late  as  2500  B.  C.,  nor  does  either 
of  them  betray  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  other’s  ex¬ 
istence.  As  early  as  3750  B.  C.,  in  far  away  Babylonia,  we 
see  Naram-Sin  crossing  the  mountains  of  the  East  to  con¬ 
quer  Elam  and  to  invade  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  then 
called  the  Land  of  Magan.  But  this  event  is  unheard  of  and 
unrecorded  in  the  annals  of  Egypt,  where  her  most  ancient 
kings  were  standing  round  the  shrine  of  Nekhen,  the 
cradle  of  the  Egyptian  monarchy.  Not  until  the  period 
of  the  Kassite  kings  (about  2000  B.  C.)  did  Babylon  and 
Assyria  establish  direct  relations  with  Egypt,  and  from 


30 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


that  time  forward  the  influence  they  exerted  upon  one 
another  was  continuous  and  unbroken. 

Now,  chronology  was  not  by  any  means  an  unknown 
science  among  the  Babylonians.  The  great  lack,  however, 
is  the  absence  of  any  known  fixed  starting-point.  Yet  we 
do  not  despair  of  some  day  finding  some  fixed  date  and 
some  important  cross-reference  to  Egyptian  or  Biblical 
history.  “  In  the  later  periods  of  Babylonian  history 
tablets  were  dated1  in  the  year  of  the  king  who  was  reign¬ 
ing  at  the  time  the  documents  were  drawn  up,  but  this 
simple  system  had  not  been  adopted  at  the  early  date 
period.  In  the  place  of  this  we  find  that  each  year  was 
cited  by  the  event  of  the  greatest  importance  which 
occurred  in  that  year.  This  event  might  be  the  cutting  of 
a  canal,  when  the  year  in  which  this  took  place  might  be 
referred  to  as  4  the  year  in  which  the  canal  named  Aikhegal- 
lu  was  cut  ’ ;  or  it  might  be  the  building  of  a  temple,  as  in 
the  date  formula,  4  the  year  in  which  the  great  temple  of 
the  Moon-god  was  built  ’ ;  or  it  might  be  the  conquest  of  a 
city,  such  as  4  the  year  in  which  the  city  of  Kish  was  de¬ 
stroyed.’  Now  it  will  be  obvious  that  this  system  had 
many  disadvantages.  An  event  might  be  of  importance 
for  one  city,  while  it  might  never  have  been  heard  of  in 
another  district.  Thus  it  sometimes  happened  that  the 
same  event  was  not  adopted  throughout  the  whole  country 
for  designating  a  particular  year,  and  the  result  was  that 
different  systems  of  dating  were  employed  in  different 
parts  of  Babylonia.  Moreover,  when  a  particular  system 
had  been  in  use  for  a  considerable  time  it  required  a  very 
good  memory  to  retain  the  order  and  period  of  the  various 
events  referred  to  in  the  date-formulae,  so  as  to  fix  in  a 
moment  the  date  of  a  document  by  its  mention  of  one  of 
them.  In  order  to  assist  themselves  in  their  task  of  fixing 
dates  in  this  manner  the  scribes  of  the  I  Dynasty  of  Baby¬ 
lon  drew  up  lists  of  the  titles  of  the  years,  arranged  in 

1  “  E.  and  W.  A.,”  p.  241. 


The  Great  South  Arch  at  Karnak.  One  of  the  great  stone  books 

of  the  Nile 


Egyptian  Chronology  Before  and  After  the  Exodus  31 

chronological  order  under  the  reigns  of  the  kings  to  which 
they  referred.  Some  of  these  lists  have  been  recovered,  and 
they  are  of  the  greatest  assistance  in  fixing  the  chronology 
while  at  the  same  time  they  furnish  us  with  considerable 
information  concerning  the  history  of  the  period  of  which 
we  should  otherwise  have  been  in  ignorance.” 

This  Babylonian  system  reminds  us  of  the  system  we 
sometimes  employ  when  we  refer  to  the  period  “  before  the 
war  ”  in  the  United  States,  or  “  before  the  massacre  ” 
in  Syria  (i860),  “  before  the  Reformation  ”  in  Europe,  or 
“  before  the  days  of  Magna  Charta”  in  England.  If 
these  events  were  not  clearly  fixed  by  our  present  system 
of  chronology  they  would  soon  become  very  shadowy  and 
indefinite. 

It  is  from  Egypt,  however,  that  we  obtain  the  most 
fascinating  facts  concerning  the  chronology  of  the  ancient 
world.  The  written  records  of  Egyptian  civilization  go 
back  fully  4000  years  B.  C.  They  consist  of  the  monu¬ 
ments  which  have  been  carefully  studied  now  for  a  hundred 
years,  the  history  of  Manetho,  a  priest  in  the  days  of 
Ptolemy  I  (305-285  B.  C.),  who  wrote  a  history  in  the 
Greek  language,  and  the  Turin  Papyrus  of  Kings.  These 
stone  books  of  Father  Nile  include  lists  of  kings  inscribed 
on  temples  and  tombs  at  Abydos,  Karnak  and  Sakkara, 
which  date,  fortunately  for  our  purpose,  from  the  XVIII 
and  XIX  Dynasties,  and  give  the  names  of  seventy-six, 
sixty-one,  and  forty-seven  kings  respectively.  Private 
tombs  give  supplementary  and,  in  many  cases,  more  ac¬ 
curate  dates  and  facts.  The  public  monuments  are  not 
always  above  suspicion.  On  one  of  the  gates  at  Deir  el- 
Bahari  the  jealous  Thotmes  III  chiselled  out  HatshepsuEs 
name  in  the  royal  cartouches  and  inserted  his  own  in 
its  place,  but  he  forgot  to  alter  the  gender  of  the  pro¬ 
nouns  in  the  accompanying  inscription,  which  therefore 
reads:  “  King  Thotmes  III,  she  made  the  monument 
to  her  father.”  Fine  examples  of  this  lack  of  truthful- 


32 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


ness  are  found  in  all  ages,  as  evidenced  by  inscriptions  in 
Jerusalem. 

If  poor  old  Manetho  should  rise  from  his  unknown  grave 
he  could  open  libel  cases  in  every  civilized  country  of  the 
earth  and  take  advantage  of  the  copyright  laws  of  all  ages. 
He  has  been  praised,  abused,  made  fun  of,  and  somehow 
cannot  be  gotten  rid  of.  He  is  like  the  siege  of  Troy.  On 
the  whole,  the  most  recent  discoveries  make  Manetho  a 
much  more  trustworthy  witness  than  his  hostile  critics  have 
hitherto  been  willing  to  reckon  him,  and  it  is  not  at  all  im¬ 
possible  that  some  day  he  will  rise,  like  the  city  of  Troy, 
and  give  the  lie  to  generations  of  parvenus  who  have 
presumed  to  question  his  statements.  Old  Manetho  di¬ 
vided  the  long  succession  of  Pharaohs  into  thirty  royal 
houses  or  dynasties,  and  these  have  been  so  long  employed 
in  modern  study  of  Egyptian  history  that  it  is  now  im¬ 
possible  to  dispense  with  them.  Moreover,  his  work 
has  perished  and  naught  but  an  epitome  of  it  exists  as  pre¬ 
served  by  the  Latin  writer  Julius  Africanus  and  Eusebius, 
with  some  extracts  in  Josephus. 

The  Turin  Papyrus  of  Kings  has  also  been  a  subject  of 
controversy.  It  is  in  a  pretty  dilapidated  condition. 
Originating  from  the  Ramesside  period,  it  probably 
enumerated  when  complete  all  the  kings  from  the  I  to  the 
Hyksos  Dynasty. 

The  attempt  to  fix  the  chronological  data  in  these  written 
documents  and  to  bring  them  into  chronological  order  is  a 
task  that  extended  over  the  whole  of  the  19th  century. 
The  problem  is  to  get  at  the  date  of  the  first  king  of  the 
I  Dynasty.  Every  one  has  some  interest  in  the  question 
whether  Menes  founded  the  kingdom  of  Egypt  five  thou¬ 
sand  years  before  Herodotus,  or  at  only  half  that  distance 
of  time.  We  know  perfectly  well  that  the  Persians  con¬ 
quered  Egypt  in  525  B.  C.  and  put  an  end  to  the  XXII 
Dynasty.  There  were  then  two  processes  of  working 
backward,  one  is  by  what  has  been  called  “  dead  reckoning/’ 


Egyptian  Chronology  Before  and  After  the  Exodus  33 

and  the  other  by  astronomical  calculations  based  upon  the 
Egyptian  calendar,  which  is  now  fairly  well  known.1 

The  process  of  “  dead  reckoning  ”  is  that  of  simply 
adding  the  known  or  supposed  length  of  all  the  kings’ 
reigns,  and  thus  reaching  the  initial  date  of  each  dynasty 
in  the  series.  This  process  of  “  dead  reckoning  ”  along 
the  Nile  seems  to  have  been  attended  with  as  many  dangers 
as  the  same  process  is  usually  attended  with  over  a  stormy 
sea,  under  a  sunless  sky  and  along  a  rocky  coast.  The 
dates  assigned  by  various  scholars  differ  more  than  2000 
years,  Borch  making  it  as  remote  as  5702  B.  C.,  and  Tofif- 
teen  as  late  as  3285  B.  C.,2  when  the  first  Pharaoh  mounted 
the  throne. 

Astronomical  calculations  are  intricate  mathematical 
deductions  based  upon  the  well-known  laws  and  facts  of 
astronomy  which  are  mentioned  in  the  documents  of  ancient 
Egyptian  history.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  when  the 
dwellers  in  the  Nile  valley  failed  to  find  on  the  earth  any 
changeless  starting-point  for  their  chronological  system, 
like  the  Christians  of  the  sixth  century,  they  lifted  their 
eyes  to  the  heavens  and  found  the  changeless  among  the 
changeable. 

The  Christians  chose  the  one  moment  and  the  day  when 
the  heavens  touched  the  earth  in  the  birth  of  the  person  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  The  Egyptians,  realizing 
the  vagueness  of  changing  heat  and  growth,  and  seeking 
some  connection  between  the  sun  and  the  stars,  “  adopted 
the  first  appearance  of  a  star  in  the  glow  of  sunrise,” 
and  chose  for  their  star  of  observation  the  brightest 


1  The  civilization  of  the  Delta  discovered  the  year  of  365  days  in  the  43d 
century  B.  C.  and  gave  us  the  earliest  fixed  date  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
4241  B.  C.  “B.  A.  E.,”  p.  35. 


2  Borch . B.  C.  5702  Lepsius . B.  C.  3892 

Unger . B.  C.  5613  Bunsen . B.  C.  3623 

Brugsch . B.  C.  4455  Breasted . B.  C.  3400 

Lauth . B.  C.  4157  Toffteen . B.  C.  3285 


(Petrie,  5510.  Myers,  4500-3700.) 


3 


34 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


of  all  the  stars,  which  they  called  Sothis,  which  is  none 
other  than  our  Sirius  or  the  Dog  Star.  And  this  rising  of 
Sirius  in  the  dawn  just  before  the  sun  became  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  Egyptian  New  Year. 

Censorius  again  says:  “  The  beginnings  of  these  years 
are  always  reached  from  the  first  day  of  that  month  which 
is  called  by  the  Egyptians  Thoth,  which  happened  this 
year  (239  A.  D.)  upon  the  7th  of  the  Kalends  of  July  (June 
25  th);  for  a  hundred  years  ago  from  the  present  year 
(i.  e.,  139  A.  D.)  the  same  fell  upon  the  Kalends  of  August 
(July  2 1st),  on  which  day  Canicula  (Sirius)  regularly 
rises  in  Egypt.”1  This  is  the  primal  fixed  date  in  Egyptian 
chronology  from  which  flow  some  interesting  conclusions. 

Like  all  other  ancient  peoples,  they  made  use  of  the 
moon  to  mark  the  months,  but  where  we  put  an  extra  day 
in  the  calendar  “  the  Egyptians  ignored  the  leap  year  and 
counted  only  365  days.”  Then,  noting  that  the  months 
were  always  slipping  farther  behind  the  seasons,  the  ripen¬ 
ing  fruit  and  the  harvests,  these  facts  were  recorded  until 
other  generations  noted  that  again  the  months  were  catch¬ 
ing  up  until  they  coincided  with  the  records  of  a  thousand 
years  before.  The  authority  for  this  is  Censorius,  writing 
in  239  A.  D.  that  “  the  Egyptian  civil  year  has  only  365 
days,  without  any  intercalary  day,  whence  the  quadren- 
nium  so  adjusts  itself  that  in  the  1461st  year  the  revolution 
is  completed.”2 

Thus  the  Egyptian  New  Year’s  day  of  the  months — 
1  st  of  Thoth — coincided  in  139  A.  D.  with  the  fixed  as¬ 
tronomical  feature  of  the  rising  of  Sirius  in  the  dawn  just 
before  the  sun,  which  was  July  2 1st.  Now  from  this 
astronomical  occurrence  tables  can  be  worked  out  for  any 
day  of  the  year  of  our  Christian  era.  For  example,  the 
1st  of  Thoth  corresponded  with  our  23d  of  November 
in  1099  A.  D.,  362  B.  C.  1822,  3282  and  4742  B.  C.,  where 

l“P.  R.  S.”  p.  165. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  164. 


Egyptian  Chronology  Before  and  After  the  Exodus  35 

the  period  of  revolution  between  these  dates  is  the  1461 
years  above  referred  to. 

The  next  step  has  been  to  collect  the  astronomical  data 
from  the  Egyptian  documents  and  monuments,  and  the 
first  important  one  is  a  note  on  the  back  of  the  medical 
Ebers  papyrus,  where  it  is  stated  that  Sirius  rose  on  the 
9  th  of  Epiphi  in  the  9th  year  of  Amenhotep.  Referring 
those  who  wish  to  follow  out  the  calculations  to  Petrie’s 
“  Researches  in  Sinai  ”  (p.  166),  I  need  to  observe  only 
the  most  important  fact  that  this  confirms  beyond  a  per- 
adventure  the  important  date  of  1580  B.  C.  as  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  XVIII  Dynasty,  which  is  almost  the  oldest 
date  in  Egyptian  history  which  is  universally  accepted  by 
scholars.  Its  peculiar  importance  to  us  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  falls  about  one  hundred  years  before  the  date  of  the 
Exodus,  and  therefore  brings  that  event  well  within  the 
limits  of  accepted  and  accurate  chronology.  But  more 
of  this  later. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  DISTRICT  OF  SINAI 

The  Exodus  was  out  of  Egypt  and  into  Sinai,  so  that, 
fascinating  as  it  would  be  to  remain  in  the  Land  of  the 
Nile,  our  path  lies  over  the  border.  Sinai  in  its  largest 
sense  is  that  V-shaped  section  of  land  between  what  we  now 
designate  as  the  continents  of  Africa  and  Asia.  Its  base, 
resting  upon  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  may  be  given  as 
a  line  running  due  east  from  Port  Said  for  a  distance  of  1 7  5 
miles  and  almost  touching  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  Its  two  sides  then  would  measure  275  miles,  and 
stretch  southward  to  this  apex,  splitting  the  Red  Sea 
into  the  Gulf  of  Suez  and  the  Gulf  of  Akaba.  The  area 
of  this  region  would  then  roughly  be  about  24,000  square 
miles.  Sinai  Peninsula  proper,  as  we  shall  see  later,  in¬ 
cludes  only  about  10,000  square  miles. 

Curiously  enough  this  district  has  at  times  belonged  to 
Asia  and  at  other  times  to  Africa.  Its  northern  section 
along  the  sea  is  the  ancient  Sirbonian  Bog,  an  almost  im¬ 
passable  morass  of  mud  and  quicksand.  The  central  sec¬ 
tion  is  an  elevated  desert  plateau  seared  by  dry  ravines, 
while  in  the  apex  of  the  southern  section  is  a  sublime  cluster 
of  mountain  peaks  which  are  known  as  Sinai. 

Now  this  whole  V-shaped  section  has  at  times  been  a 
barrier  between  the  civilization  of  the  Nile  and  the  Eu¬ 
phrates,  but  much  more  often  a  bridge  over  which  races, 
languages,  civilization,  envoys,  nomads  and  armies  have 
passed  and  repassed  between  the  nations  of  antiquity. 
Through  this  desolate  region  ran  east  and  west  some  of 
the  great  roads  which  connected  these  nations,  the  remains 
of  which  may  some  day  be  dug  from  beneath  the  shifting 

36 


The  District  of  Sinai 


37 


sands.  In  modern  times  this  region  again  comes  into 
prominence  by  the  cutting  of  the  Suez  Canal,  this  time  from 
north  to  south,  as  a  highway  from  ocean  to  ocean.  But  its 
greatest  and  imperishable  fame  rests  upon .  the  Exodus, 
when  the  Children  of  Israel  came  out  of  Egyptian  bondage 
into  their  supreme  destiny  as  a  nation,  called  of  God  to  be 
the  bearers  of  saving  truth  to  the  whole  human  race. 

Fascinating  chapters  and  volumes  have  recently  been 
written  throwing  light  upon  the  origin  and  relations  of  the 
great  nations  of  antiquity.  The  stories  of  their  ways  and 
their  struggles  for  supremacy  and  their  passing  away, 
such  as  are  embodied  in  the  three  great  volumes  of  Mas- 
pero,  which  have  for  their  titles  the  “  Dawn  of  Civiliza¬ 
tion,”  “  The  Struggle  of  the  Nations,”  and  “  The  Passing 
Away  of  the  Nations,”  most  of  which  began  and  was  in 
progress  about  the  time  of  the  period  we  are  considering. 

Looking  backward,  the  whole  consensus  of  accepted 
research  assigns  a  great  place  to  the  Semitic  or  Arabic  race. 
Many  lines  of  evidence  point  to  Arabia  as  the  home  of  the 
Semites,  and  Arabia  in  human  history  has  been  like  the 
mysterious  sources  of  the  Nile,  the  human  fountain  from 
which  wave  after  wave  of  humanity  has  issued,  changing 
the  face  of  the  world.  The  first  emigration  of  Semites 
from  Arabia  into  Egypt  seems  to  have  taken  place  in 
Neolithic  times,  and  to  have  entered  the  country  by  this 
bridge-like  district  of  Sinai.  It  left  its  impress  at  Helio¬ 
polis  in  the  early  religious  cultus,  and  also  stamped  its 
essential  Semitic  character  unmistakably  upon  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  the  African  people  in  Egypt.1 

The  second  wave  of  Semites  moved  from  Arabia  in  the 
centuries  following  3000  B.  C.  This  wave  took  into 
Babylonia  the  Dynasty  of  Sargon,  because  there  are 
many  evidences  now  of  Semitic  influences  in  the  Euphrates 
Valley  which  synchronize  with  the  founding  of  the  Phoene- 
cian  cities  on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean. 


1  “  Bible  World,”  January,  1910. 


38 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


The  third  wave  of  the  Semites  from  Northern  Arabia 
brought  the  first  or  Hammurabi  Dynasty  into  Babylonia. 
The  theory  that  this  dynasty  was  not  purely  Babylonian 
was  started  years  ago,  and  based  upon  a  study  of  the  forms 
of  the  names  which  were  borne  by  the  kings  and  their 
courtiers.  It  proved  to  be  a  strong  dynasty.  The  new 
blood  and  energy  infused  into  the  already  existing  civiliza¬ 
tion  of  Babylonia  found  its  greatest  representative  in  the 
famous  Hammurabi,  who  reigned  for  a  period  of  forty-three 
years.  Much  discussion  has  taken  place  concerning 
Hammurabi’s  date,  but  a  recently  discovered  royal  chrono¬ 
logical  tablet  makes  it  not  earlier  than  2100  and  possibly 
as  late  as  1900  B.  C.  His  remarkable  civil  code  of  280 
laws,  recently  discovered  in  the  ruins  of  Susa,  ranks  among 
the  most  remarkable  finds  of  human  history.  This  code 
anticipates  by  almost  a  thousand  years  many  of  the  be¬ 
liefs  which  underlie  the  Old  Testament  laws.  If,  as  now 
seems  probable,  the  Semitic  origin  of  the  Hammurabi 
Dynasty  is  established,  this  code  in  a  wholly  unexpected 
fashion  confirms  the  Biblical  view  which  assumes  that 
the  Semitic  race  were,  in  God’s  providence,  the  depository 
of  the  earliest  revelations  and  laws  centuries  before  their 
codification  by  Moses  at  Sinai  for  the  distinctly  Hebrew 
people.  A  careful  study  of  Hammurabi’s  code  in  com¬ 
parison  with  the  Mosaic  code  suggests  the  relation  of  the 
mediaeval  Christian  Church  with  that  of  the  Reformation. 
The  question  of  the  actual  contact  and  relation  of  these 
two  codes  will  be  dealt  with  later  on  in  connection  with  the 
documents  bearing  upon  the  Exodus. 

The  fourth  wave  of  Semites  issuing  from  Arabia  carried  the 
Arameans  into  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  and  their  kindred 
tribes,  the  Hebrews,  Ammonites,  Moabites  and  Edomites, 
into  Palestine  some  time  prior  to  1500  B.  C.  The  date 
bearing  upon  the  identification  of  the  Khabiri  or  Habiri 
of  the  monuments  with  the  Hebrews  is  a  question  too  in¬ 
tricate  and  involved  for  such  a  volume  as  this  aims  to  be, 


The  District  of  Sinai 


39 


but  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  Jewish  or  Hebrew  race, 
examined  from  the  Biblical  side,  shows  clearly  that  it  was 
mixed  in  its  origin  and  subjected  to  a  great  variety  of  out¬ 
side  influences.  It  was  clearly  Arab  or  Bedawin  at  first 
under  Mesopotamian  influences.  It  then  lived  for  a  period 
among  the  Syrians,  and  here  it  seems  to  have  been  when 
mentioned  by  the  monuments.  It  was  then  drilled  and 
disciplined  by  the  Egyptians  and  in  the  Exodus,  and  later 
absorbed  various  kindred  peoples  of  the  desert  and  of 
Palestine.  In  all  probability  this  remote  ancient  history 
and  the  origin  of  peoples  was  very  similar  to  what  has 
taken  place  in  the  centuries  of  which  we  have  most  com¬ 
plete  records.  At  5000  B.  C.  there  were  at  least  five 
different  races  living  contemporaneously  in  Egypt.  The 
same  was  true  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus,  in  the  time  of 
Christ,  and  in  the  present  day.  The  Arabs,  Turks,  Arme¬ 
nians,  Greeks  and  Europeans  are  simply  a  different  combina¬ 
tion  from  what  has  perhaps  been  true  in  all  ages.  The  im¬ 
portant  point  for  us  to  bear  in  mind  is  the  existence  and 
great  influence  of  the  Semitic  blood  which  existed  and  which 
has  so  marvelously  survived,  in  God’s  providence,  the  vicis¬ 
situdes  of  all  the  ages  in  the  Hebrew  people  of  to-day. 

The  fifth  and  last  wave  of  the  Semites  from  Arabia  be¬ 
gan  to  move  forth  in  the  centuries  just  before  the  Christian 
era  and  culminated  in  the  great  conquests  of  Elam.  But 
this  lies  outside  the  sphere  of  our  present  investigation 
because  it  came  some  centuries  after  the  Exodus.  Thus, 
Sinai,  while  belonging  to  Egypt,  has  always  been  Semitic; 
racially,  Sinai  has  been  the  bridge  before  any  political  con¬ 
tact  has  been  established. 

It  has  often  been  remarked  that  Syria  and  Palestine 
lay  between  the  two  great  civilizations  on  the  Nile  and  the 
Euphrates,  and  must  have  been  profoundly  influenced  by 
both.  What  is  true  in  general  concerning  Syria  and  Pales¬ 
tine  is  also  true  in  a  peculiar  way  concerning  the  wider 
district  of  Sinai.  Generally  speaking,  Babylonian  civili- 


40 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


zation  was  older  than  Egyptian,  but  investigators  are  now 
coming  to  recognize  a  still  more  ancient  stratum  than  the 
Babylonian,  which  they  have  named  Sumerian;  and  it  is 
also  recognized  that  the  Sinai  district,  with  its  most  ancient 
Semitic  people,  was  in  some  way  the  bridge  between 
Babylonian  and  contemporaneous  Egyptian  life,  and  this 
period  seems  to  coincide  with  the  existence  of  the  Semitic 
kings  in  Babylonia  and  the  Hyksos,  or  Bedawin,  or  Arab 
rulers  in  Egypt.  For  a  period  of  almost  two  thousand 
years  these  civilizations  marched,  as  it  were,  each  upon 
its  solitary  way  without  meeting  the  other.  Eventually 
the  two  roads  converged  and  their  point  of  meeting  was 
Petra  and  Sinai. 

Among  the  really  fascinating  discoveries  and  one  which 
bears  in  a  marvelous  way  upon  the  conditions  of  the  an¬ 
cient  world  in  Syria  immediately  before  the  Exodus,  was 
the  discovery  of  the  Tel-el-Amarna  tablets,  which  have 
opened  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  human  race, 
because  they  contain  information  previously  undreamt 
of  and  which  Egyptologists  had  never  dared  to  hope  would 
be  recovered.  Stranger  than  the  information  itself,  how¬ 
ever,  is  the  fact  that  all  the  outside  or  foreign  correspond¬ 
ence  of  the  Egyptians  was  at  that  time  carried  on  in  the 
cuneiform  or  Babylonian  language,  which  diplomatically 
in  those  days  seems  to  have  been  like  the  French  of  the 
present  day,  used  by  nations  who  possessed  an  entirely 
different  mother  tongue.  Politically,  as  has  already  been 
remarked,  the  Sinai  region  was  for  centuries  the  barrier 
between  the  civilization  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile 
Valley.  When  it  became  the  bridge  it  assumed  a  new 
importance,  and  from  that  time  forward  was  coveted  and 
possessed  by  either  one  or  the  other  of  these  great  civiliza¬ 
tions. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  common  statement  concerning  the 
district  could  have  been  summed  up  in  the  following  words : 
for  over  four  thousand  years  the  Egyptians  had  more  or 


The  District  of  Sinai 


4i 


less  dominated  Sinai,  but  the  degradation  of  their  kings 
under  the  later  Ramessides  and  subsequent  to  the  Exodus 
let  this  side  of  their  territory  finally  slip  from  their  power, 
but  the  most  recent  discoveries  in  Babylonia  have  put  an 
entirely  different  face  upon  this  problem.  From  a  stele 
found  recently  at  Susa,  accounts  of  which  were  published 
in  1907  only,  is  thrown  a  new  and  strange  light  upon  the 
district.  According  to  this  stele  it  was  called  the  land  of 
Magan,  and  this  new  text  records  the  fact  that  Naram- 
Sin  as  early  as  3750  B.  C.,  or  about  the  time  of  the  third 
Egyptian  Dynasty,  made  an  expedition  in  which  he  de¬ 
feated  Manium,  the  lord  of  that  region.  A  reference  to 
such  an  expedition  had  been  noted  years  ago  on  a  clay 
tablet  from  Ashur-bani-pahs  library  at  Nineveh,  but 
contained  no  names.  This  more  recent  discovery  gives 
the  name  of  the  conquered  ruler  of  Sinai  and  other  details 
of  the  campaign.  Naram-Sin  also  records  the  fact  that 
he  cut  blocks  of  stone  in  the  mountains  there  and  trans¬ 
ported  them  to  his  own  city  of  Agade.  This  stone  turns  out 
to  be  the  famous  green  diorite  of  Sinai.  From  these 
blocks  were  cut  statues  of  himself,  and  the  inscription 
referred  to  was  found  upon  the  base  of  one  of  these  statues. 
Later  kings  made  use  of  the  same  hard  diorite  from  the 
Sinaitic  Peninsula,  and  from  the  inscriptions  preserved 
upon  them  have  been  ascertained  the  names  of  the  build¬ 
ings  in  which  they  were  originally  placed.  Later  kings 
of  that  same  dynasty,  notably  Tjeser  and  Snefru,  the  last 
king  of  the  dynasty,  also  invaded  Sinai;  and  this  whole 
series  of  inscriptions  gives  no  hint  of  any  collision  between 
Babylonians  and  Egyptians  at  that  time,  nor  does  either  of 
them  betray  the  slightest  knowledge  of  one  another’s  ex¬ 
istence. 

From  Egyptian  monuments  it  is  now  well  known  that 
Semerkha,  of  the  I  Dynasty,  entered  Sinai  and  inscribed 
his  name  upon  the  rocks,  but  the  regular  annexation,  so  to 
speak,  of  Sinai  to  Egypt  took  place  under  the  Memphites 


42 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


of  the  III  Dynasty.  What  this  means  chronologically 
can  be  grasped  when  we  realize  that  this  occupation 
of  Sinai  from  both  directions  took  place  before  the  build¬ 
ing  of  the  pyramids  by  the  three  great  kings  of  the  IV 
Dynasty,  Khufu,  Khafra,  and  Menhaura,  at  Ghizeh  near 
Cairo,  and  a  thousand  years  before  the  birth  of  Abraham 
and  more  than  1500  years  before  the  Exodus.  Details  of 
the  Egyptian  occupation,  as  seen  in  the  religious  charac¬ 
ter  of  Horeb  and  the  turquoise  mines  at  Maghareh,  will 
be  dealt  with  in  later  chapters.  The  point  to  be  empha¬ 
sized  here  and  borne  in  mind  is  the  fact  that  this  “  wilder¬ 
ness  ”  or  “  desert  ”  of  Sinai  was  better  known  to  the 
Babylonians  and  the  Egyptians  three  thousand  years  be¬ 
fore  Christ  than  it  has  been  to  the  Christian  world  during 
the  last  thousand  years.  Hence  it  need  not  be  wondered 
at  that  the  exploration  and  investigations  of  the  last  ten 
years  have  treated  the  whole  archaeological  world  to  a 
series  of  most  delightful  surprises. 

SINAI  PROPER  GEOGRAPHICALLY 

Synchronizing  with  the  invention  and  development  of 
the  automobile,  a  number  of  archaeological  investigators 
have  been  devoting  much  time  and  effort  to  the  careful 
study  of  the  great  roads  of  antiquity,  and  no  modern 
dictionary  of  Biblical  or  archaeological  facts  is  now  com¬ 
plete  without  articles  on  this  important  subject.  There 
is  little  doubt  concerning  the  fact  that  these  ancient 
nations  communicated  with  each  other  in  peace  and  war 
almost  wholly  by  land.  References  to  these  great  roads  of 
antiquity  have  been  collected  from  all  ancient  literature, 
and  a  map  of  the  ancient  East,  after  tracing  the  well- 
known  ancient  and  modern  route  from  the  Delta  to  a 
point  near  Ismailieh,  gives  three  possible  ancient  roads 
across  the  Sinai  district;  the  most  northern  one  passes 
northeast  within  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  of  the  coast 
straight  to  the  ancient  Beersheba;  the  second,  almost  due 


The  District  of  Sinai 


43 


east  to  a  location  named  Aboda,  where  it  forks,  the  north¬ 
east  branch  proceeding  to  Beersheba  and  to  the  southeast 
of  Elath;  the  third  branch  from  Ismailieh  swings  southeast 
and  across  the  desert  to  Elath — this  corresponds  to  the 
modern  pilgrimage  route  from  Suez  to  Akaba,  which  some 
have  recently  suggested  or  supposed  to  have  been  the 
route  of  the  Children  of  Israel.  But  like  many  other  sec¬ 
tions  in  the  East,  the  apparently  short  and  direct  route 
has  not  been  followed  except  by  the  swiftest  dromedaries  or 
couriers.  This  can  be  clearly  illustrated  by  the  postal 
routes  of  Egypt  or  of  the  Turkish  Empire.  For  example, 
there  has  been  for  many  years  a  dromedary  post  between 
Damascus  and  Bagdad  to  which  the  lonely  rider,  on  his 
fast  dromedary  and  carrying  the  minimum  amount  of  pro¬ 
visions  and  water,  makes  straight  across  the  desert  and  in 
nine  days  reaches  his  destination;  but  the  ordinary  route 
for  travellers  and  merchants  of  all  kinds  is  the  road  which 
swings  northward  and  completely  around  the  northern 
end  of  the  Syrian  Desert  through  Hums,  Hama,  Aleppo, 
striking  the  Euphrates  at  Deir  Bekr,  and  following  that 
stream  with  its  life  and  verdure  for  more  than  three  times 
the  nine  days’  journey  of  the  swift  dromedary.  Exactly 
the  same  thing  was  true  in  ancient  times  in  Sinai;  instead  of 
the  apparently  short  route  across  the  pathless  and  water¬ 
less  desert,  the  real  route  for  travellers  and  merchants,  as 
also  the  Children  of  Israel,  led  southeast  along  the  sea¬ 
shore  and  up  among  the  mountain  peaks,  and  then  north¬ 
east  to  Elath,  where  roads  again  divided,  leading  through 
Petra  to  Syria  and  southward  to  the  Arabian  Peninsula. 

This  Peninsula  of  Sinai,  within  which  lies  the  first  two 
sections  of  the  Route,  is  the  triangular  region  between  the 
two  arms  of  the  northern  end  of  the  Red  Sea.  A  line 
drawn  from  Suez  to  Akaba,  a  distance  of  150  miles  through 
the  desert,  forms  the  northern  side  of  the  triangle.  The 
other  two  sides  are  bounded  by  the  Gulf  of  Suez  and  the 
Gulf  of  Akaba.  The  Gulf  of  Suez,  the  longer  arm,  sweep- 


44 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


ing  toward  the  southeast  for  a  distance  of  about  200  miles, 
lies  in  the  trough-like  depression  which  separates  Africa 
from  Asia,  and,  together  with  the  Suez  Canal,  forms  one 
of  the  greatest  waterways  of  the  earth.  The  other  arm, 
the  Gulf  of  Akaba,  extends  north  by  west  for  140  miles, 
being  a  continuation  of  the  most  remarkable  rift  upon  our 
planet,  that  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  Jordan  Valley.1  The 
area  of  this  triangle,  the  peninsula  proper,  is  little  less 
than  10,000  square  miles.  It  is  one  vast  desert,  relieved 
by  a  few  oases  along  the  sea-coast  and  deep  among  the  net¬ 
work  of  rocky  valleys.  In  the  north  and  along  both  sea- 
coasts  are  vast  stretches  of  sand,  which  forever  shift  before 
the  winds  from  land  and  sea.  Further  onward  are  stony 
plateaus  and  great  wastes  of  sand  glistening  with  salt. 
But  just  south  of  the  center  of  the  peninsula,  like  a  great 
lighthouse  between  two  continents,  rises  the  huge  granite 
range  of  Sinai  to  a  height  of  over  8500  feet.  Geologically 
this  mass  of  primeval  gneiss  and  granite,  or  “  in  more  pre¬ 
cise  terminology,  of  colorless  quartz,  flesh-colored  felspar, 
green  hornblende  and  black  mica,”  is  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
pressive  sights  of  our  earth.  Since  the  days  of  creation 
these  crystalline  masses  have  undergone  no  geological 
change,  but  have  reared  their  summits  above  the  ocean 
from  the  beginnings  of  time  unaffected  by  the  transitions 
that  have  so  completely  changed  the  face  of  our  planet 
elsewhere.  Only  at  their  base  do  these  venerable  moun¬ 
tains  show  any  trace  of  alteration,  where  the  waves  and  the 
winds  of  the  ages  have  crunched  and  ground  their  fadeless 
elements  into  the  colored  sands  which  filled  the  geological 
gulfs  and  bays  of  the  Jordan  rift,  and  made  possible  the 
beauties  of  Petra  &nd  all  that  region.  Rising  majestically 
from  their  encircling  setting  of  desert  and  sea  the  whole 
mass  is  cleft  and  rifted  and  shattered  into  a  fascinating 
tangle  of  sublime  valleys,  towering  cliffs,  awful  precipices 
and  magnificent  peaks,  which  roll  like  billows  far  up  into 
1  See  “Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,”  Vol.  I,  p.  137. 


Our  Sinai 


Cameleers : 
from  the 


Sheikh  Hammadi  is  the  third  man  standing 
right,  wearing  a  white  turban 


When  the  day  was  over — around  the  camp-fire 


The  District  of  Sinai 


45 


the  crystalline  blue  of  the  heavens.  Long  before  the  days 
of  the  Exodus  this  range  was  known  as  Horeb,  or  the 
mountain  of  God,  and  into  this  maze  of  divine  handiwork 
the  Children  of  Israel  were  led  forty  days  or  more  after 
they  quitted  the  bondage  of  Egypt  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nile.  Here  among  these  sublime  valleys  and  majestic 
granite  peaks  they  remained  eleven  months  while  Moses, 
under  God’s  own  guidance,  transformed  the  mass  of 
Hebrew  slaves  into  Israel,  the  Chosen  People,  the  miracle 
of  human  history.1 

Of  course,  these  mountain  peaks  and  valleys  have  been 
incrusted  with  legends  and  shrines,  but  somewhere  here 
within  a  little  circle  of  thirty  miles  took  place  many  of  the 
most  important  transactions  of  human  history  in  closest 
contact  with  God.  The  announcement  of  the  Covenant, 
the  manifestation  of  God’s  presence,  the  giving  of  the  Ten 
Commandments  and  the  setting  up  of  the  Tabernacle  are 
events  that  loom  large  in  the  history  and  destiny  of  the 
race.  Here  among  the  indescribable  beauties  and  gran¬ 
deur  of  these  granite  mountains  Moses,  guided  by  God, 
evolved  a  civil  code  and  established  a  complete  form  of 
religious  worship.  There  are  no  fossils  in  the  rocks  of 
Sinai,  interesting  though  these  wornout  garments  of  other 
living  creatures  in  other  ages  may  be.  It  is  no  accident 
that  the  promulgation  of  the  Divine  Law,  the  funda¬ 
mental  principles  of  all  the  best  moral  and  legal  systems  of 
the  world,  is  linked  with  the  oldest  geological  formation 
of  our  planet.  There  is  a  magnificent  correspondence 
between  the  granite  cliffs  of  Sinai  and  the  unchangeable 
walls  of  moral  truths. 

The  peninsula  of  Sinai  is  a  desert  in  which  its  dwindling 
inhabitants  wander  in  search  of  water  and  food.  All  told, 
the  Bedawin  do  not  number  more  than  6000  souls.  They 
are  divided  into  four  main  tribes,  and  are  headed,  not  ruled 
over,  by  sheikhs,  who  represent  their  followers  before  the 

1  Exodus  19:40. 


46 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Government  and  who  act  as  judges  and  referees  in  the 
never-ending  disputes.  These  Bedawin  dwell  in  miserable 
tents  which  are  always  pitched  in  lonely  valleys  and  away 
from  the  routes  of  passers-by.  When  travellers  enter  the 
peninsula  the  news  spreads  by  means  as  mysterious  as  the 
wireless,  and  hungry  fellows  with  their  lean  camels  hasten 
from  every  tribe  and  wrangle  for  days  and  weeks  over  the 
right  and  privilege  to  share  in  the  transport.  Our  group 
of  sixteen  (Fig.  4)  was  led  by  Sheikh  Hammadi,  the  third 
man  from  the  end  on  the  right,  dressed  in  white.  He 
was  wide  awake  and  got  about  as  much  work  and  as 
good  service  out  of  such  raw  material  as  any  one  could 
have  expected.  Their  habits  of  life,  their  never-ending 
conversation,  their  preparation  for  the  night  within  the 
circle  of  their  camel  harness  around  a  little  fire  (Fig.  5) 
was  a  fascinating  study. 

The  peninsula  has  always  been  thinly  populated  be¬ 
cause  scantily  supplied  with  water  and  means  of  subsistence. 
The  present  population  would  average  only  one  person  to 
every  two  square  miles,1  and  live  largely  upon  their  trade 
with  Egypt  and  the  escort  of  Greek  pilgrims  to  Sinai. 
Politically,  they  now  belong  to  Egypt.  They  are  all  tent 
dwellers,  even  though  they  build  stone  huts  at  certain  of 
the  oases  where  they  gather  for  a  month  at  the  time  of  the 
date  harvest.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  only 
permanent  habitations  in  the  peninsula  are  the  fortress 
monastery  at  Sinai  and  its  dependency  at  Tor,  on  the  Red 
Sea,  and  these  are  occupied  by  Ionian  Greek  monks. 

1  Switzerland,  200  to  the  square  mile;  New  Jersey,  250;  Alabama,  10. 


CHAPTER  IV 


FROM  THE  OCEAN  TO  SUEZ 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  while 
the  story  of  this  volume  is  woven  round  a  particular  journey, 
the  contents  of  that  story  are  the  garnered  results  of  many 
journeys  in  Bible  Lands  and  many  years’  contact  with  its 
people  and  problems. 

The  first  event  of  this  particular  trip1  was  one  that 
thrilled  the  world.  Dr.  Goucher  and  Mr.  Taylor  left 
New  York  on  January  22,  1909,  in  the  White  Star  “  Re¬ 
public.”  Early  the  next  morning  in  a  dense  fog  off  the 
island  of  Nantucket  the  “  Republic  ”  was  struck  amidships 
by  the  Italian  liner  “  Florida.”  Both  ships  were  shat¬ 
tered  to  the  sinking  point.  The  appalling  cry  for  help 
was  flashed  out  into  the  surrounding  space  encircling  the 
earth,  and  the  civilized  world  waited  breathless  while  a 
dozen  great  ships  went  pounding  through  the  dense  fog 
following  like  sleuth  hounds  the  “  C.  Q.  D.”  (Come! 
Quick!  Danger!)  of  tireless  “  Jack  ”  Binns,  who  kept  up 
that  ceaseless  exchange  of  wireless  messages  through  twelve 
perilous  hours  until  more  than  1500  souls  were  rescued  from 
the  “  Republic  ”  and  the  “  Florida,”  and  were  safe  on 
board  the  “  Baltic,”  returning  to  New  York.  The  peril 

1  As  far  as  the  author  was  concerned  it  meant  1900  miles: 


Beirut  to  Egypt .  277  Camels,  109  hours  to  Sinai  and 

Rail  in  Egypt .  288  Akaba. 

Camels .  350  Horses,  162  hours  from  Akaba 

Horses .  650  to  Jerusalem  and  Safed. 

Rail  in  Syria .  235 

Carriage  and  boat .  100 


1900 

February  2d  to  April  28th,  1909. 


47 


48 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


was  great,  the  rescue  was  fine,  but  Dr.  Goucher  and  Mr. 
Taylor  were  not  among  those  who  decided  to  postpone  their 
trip  on  account  of  that  accident.  We  heard  the  news  of  the 
shipwreck  in  Beirut  on  Tuesday,  and  just  two  days  later 
came  a  cablegram  from  Dr.  Goucher,  saying  that  he  would 
meet  me  in  Cairo  on  the  Tuesday  agreed  upon,  February 
nth.  They  slept  one  night  in  the  United  States,  scraped 
together  a  partial  outfit  of  clothing  and  photographic 
material  and  sailed  the  next  day  for  England.  By  taking 
the  fast  Indian  mail  train  from  London  across  the  Conti¬ 
nent  to  Brindisi  they  succeeded  in  reaching  Cairo  on  the 
original  date  agreed  upon,  despite  the  thrilling  experience 
of  the  “  Republic.” 

But  that  did  not  end  our  connection  with  the  ill-fated 
steamer.  After  the  rescue  the  “  Republic  ”  was  towed 
toward  Martha’s  Vineyard,  but  sank  a  few  miles  from  the 
land,  and  with  her  went  down  the  most  important  part 
of  our  outfit,  two  Whitman  saddles,  the  whole  photo¬ 
graphic  supply  of  instruments,  plates  and  films  (Mr.  Taylor 
saving  only  the  best  lenses  in  his  pockets),  rifles,  shot-guns 
and  all  the  ammunition,  together  with  clothing  and  a 
hundred  little  necessaries  for  such  a  trip.  Dr.  Goucher  and 
Mr.  Taylor  were  able  to  replace  only  a  small  part  of  these 
as  they  passed  through  London  and  across  the  Continent. 
After  reaching  Cairo  we  searched  in  vain  for  rifles  and  car¬ 
tridges,  and  all  through  the  trip  mourned  for  the  Winches¬ 
ters  which  are  still  resting  beneath  the  blue  waves  of  the 
Atlantic. 

A  day  went  in  Cairo  in  interviews  with  Naoum  Beg 
Shucair,  of  the  Intelligence  Department  of  the  Soudan. 
He  had  journeyed  extensively  in  the  Sinai  Peninsula  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  Bedawin  sheikhs  and  the 
customs  of  the  country.  He  explained  very  carefully 
certain  of  the  routes,  the  places  where  we  would  certainly 
find  water,  and  directed  our  attention  to  some  of  the  more 
important  problems  of  the  region.  He  also  introduced 


General  View  of  Suez— Largely  made  ground  among  the  shallows  of  the  sea 


From  the  Ocean  to  Suez 


49 


us  to  the  Bishop  of  Sinai  and  gave  us  letters  to  the  Abbot  of 
the  Monastery  of  St.  Katharine.  Other  results  of  this 
day’s  interviews  were  a  permit  from  the  War  Department 
and  letters  to  Sheikh  Musa  Bu  Nasir,  the  highest  sheikh 
of  all  the  Bedawin  tribes  of  the  Peninsula. 

It  was  a  great  surprise  to  us  all  to  find  out  how  success¬ 
fully  the  present  Egyptian  Government  has  prohibited  the 
importation  of  modern  rifles  and  ammunition.  We  made 
use  of  every  friend  we  possessed  in  the  city  and  could  get 
no  trace  of  a  rifle  of  any  kind  that  could  be  bought  or  bor¬ 
rowed,  except  a  cumbrous  heavy  rifle  which  some  traveller 
had  used  for  elephant  hunting  in  Central  Africa.  We  did 
purchase  another  American  repeating  shot-gun  and  an 
abundant  supply  of  cartridges  for  the  same. 

After  another  day  at  the  Pyramids,  where  we  viewed  the 
extensive  excavations  and  secured  some  fine  photographs 
of  the  Pyramids  and  their  desert  surroundings,  we  returned 
to  the  Boulac  Museum,  where  we  carefully  inspected  a 
number  of  inscriptions  which  had  recently  been  brought  by 
the  Egyptian  authorities  from  the  turquoise  mines  at 
Maghareh,  where  they  had  remained  upon  the  face  of  the 
cliffs  since  the  days  of  the  I,  III,  V  and  XII  Dynasties. 
Our  dragoman,  Milhem,  had  meanwhile  completed  the 
contract  with  the  Bishop’s  agent  for  twenty-one  camels 
which  were  to  carry  us  and  our  outfit  from  Suez  to  Sinai 
and  Akaba.  The  tents  and  our  personal  outfit,  with  a  por¬ 
tion  of  the  provisions,  had  already  started  across  the 
desert  between  Cairo  and  Suez.  The  main  part  of  our 
provisions  and  water  were  taken  in  at  Suez  itself,  and  the 
first  supply  of  oranges  and  dried  fruits  had  been  sent  down 
direct  from  Beirut. 

The  train  from  Cairo  to  Suez  is  a  very  comfortable 
mode  of  travelling  and  its  luncheon  car  provided  us  with 
good  provender  at  the  noon  hour.  We  reached  Suez 
about  4  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  and  spent  another  fruit¬ 
less  two  hours  in  visiting  every  gunshop  in  the  town,  hop- 

4 


5° 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


ing  that  we  might  find  a  second-hand  rifle  of  some  kind 
that  would  be  of  use  to  us  in  the  desert. 

When  Robinson  visited  Suez  in  1838  it  was  a  miserable, 
squalid  town  of  1200  Muhammadans  and  150  Greek  Chris¬ 
tians,  who  drank  from  a  fortified  well  called  Bir  Suweis,  or 
from  the  water-skins  of  camels  who  tramped  back  and  forth 
across  the  head  of  this  gulf  to  the  “  Springs  of  Moses  ” 
on  the  Arabian  coast,  then  an  hour’s  journey  away.  Robin¬ 
son’s  remark  about  it  now  reads  strangely:  “  The  present 
arrangements  for  making  it  the  point  of  communication 
between  Europe  and  India  by  means  of  steam  navigation 
of  the  Red  Sea  may  probably  give  to  it  an  impulse,  but  it 
can  never  become  more  than  a  mere  place  of  passage  which 
both  the  traveller  and  the  inhabitant  will  hasten  to  leave  as 
soon  as  possible.”  This  sage  remark  has  proved  true  to 
the  letter.  It  was  the  terminus  of  an  ancient  canal.  It 
was  developed  in  recent  times  by  the  opening  of  the  Fresh¬ 
water  Canal  (1863)  when  the  sweet  waters  of  the  Nile 
again  reached  the  town  via  Ismailia.1  It  gave  its  name  to 
the  great  Suez  Canal  in  1869  and  has  now  an  extensive 
system  of  harbors  and  quays  (Fig.  6). 

Reference  has  already  been  made  in  the  figure  of  a  bridge 
to  the  part  played  by  the  Sinai  district  and  the  Peninsula 
in  human  history.  In  a  still  more  wonderful  way  human 
history  and  human  enterprise  have  attached  themselves 
to  the  two  narrow  strips  of  land  which  we  know  as  the 
Isthmus  of  Suez  and  Panama,  because  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  is  destined  to  play  as  great  a  part  in  the  future  of 
the  world  as  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  has  in  the  past.  France 
tried  to  exit  them  both.  England  completed  Suez,  and  the 
United  States  will  complete  Panama.  Many  and  mighty 
have  been  the  migrations  of  the  human  race  across  this 
narrow  neck  of  land  between  Asia  and  Africa,  and  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  most  momentous  of  all  human 
migrations  should  be  found  athwart  of  this  great  meeting- 

population,  1897, 17,173. 


From  the  Ocean  to  Suez 


5i 


place  of  land  and  sea  and  human  history.  Barring  the 
Panama  Canal  as  belonging  to  the  future,  the  Suez  Canal 
at  this  moment  is  the  greatest  enterprise  on  this  planet, 
and  in  the  not  distant  future  lines  of  international  railway 
enterprise  linking  the  three  continents  of  Europe,  Asia 
and  Africa,  combined  with  this  great  canal,  may  keep  the 
Isthmus  of  Suez  still  in  the  van  as  the  scene  of  the  greatest 
human  enterprise.  Certainly  the  eyes  of  the  nations  are 
already  upon  it.  We  might  easily  connect  this  enterprise 
of  the  Suez  Canal  with  the  Exodus  by  asking  the  simple 
question  as  to  whether  the  Children  of  Israel  were  obliged 
to  cross  a  canal  in  their  escape  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt, 
but  we  have  a  much  better  reason  than  this,  because  the 
canal,  between  its  inception  and  completion,  furnishes  a 
striking  illustration  of  the  vicissitudes  and  difficulties  con¬ 
nected  with  a  hundred  other  human  enterprises  which 
puzzle  and  fascinate  students  and  archaeologists  along  the 
banks  of  the  Nile. 

Far  out  in  the  sea  at  Port  Said  stands  a  superb  statue  of 
Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  a  Frenchman  who,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  is  popularly  spoken  of  as  the  originator  and 
maker  of  this  greatest  human  enterprise,  and,  in  this  respect, 
he  looms  as  large  as  some  of  the  Pharaohs  and  kings  of 
Egypt  whose  names  are  connected  with  the  pyramids  and 
monuments  along  the  Nile.  When,  however,  we  begin  to 
search  the  records  of  antiquity  we  find  that  the  idea  of 
forming  this  connecting  link  between  sea  and  sea  is  of  very 
ancient  origin  and  its  author  really  unknown.  It  is  not  at 
all  impossible  that  a  primitive  progenitor  of  this  modern 
water-way  may  have  been  crossed  by  the  Israelites  in  their 
flight.  Some  classical  writers  say  it  was  first  planned  by 
Sesostris  or  Raamses  II,  and  later  undertaken  byDarius  I. 
The  consensus  of  writers  referred  to  makes  it  almost  cer¬ 
tain  that  a  water  connection  for  small  vessels  between 
the  two  seas  was  formed  as  early  as  600  B.  C.  and  existed 
for  a  period  of  about  1400  years,  after  which  it  was  allowed 


52 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


to  fall  into  disuse.  Strabo  (63  B.  C.  to  24  A.  D.)  says 
this  ancient  canal  was  supplied  with  water  wholly  from  the 
Nile,  and  that  the  water  of  that  river  flowed  through  the 
whole  length  of  the  canal  into  the  Red  Sea.  Baron  R. 
Tott  (1785)  quotes  the  ancient  historian  Diodorus  (A.  D. 
50),  who  speaks  of  the  existence  of  certain  portions  of  this 
early  work  and  its  having  been  abandoned  in  consequence 
of  the  threatened  inundation  of  Egypt ,  which  involves  the 
fallacy  of  the  supposed  difference  between  the  two  seas, 
and  which  fallacy  played  such  an  important  part  eighteen 
centuries  later.  Arabic  historians  of  the  Moslem  conquest 
of  Egypt  mention  the  fact  that  the  canal  was  restored  and 
remained  open  more  than  a  century,  until  the  time  of  a 
certain  Mansour.  According  to  another  Arabic  writer, 
Mas’udi,  the  famous  Haroun  er  Rashid  projected  a  canal, 
which  means  a  reopening  was  made  of  the  old  canal, 
across  the  isthmus,  but  was  persuaded  that  it  would  be 
dangerous  to  lay  open  the  coast  of  Arabia  to  the  Greek 
navy;  therefore  the  project  was  abandoned.  This  idea 
of  connecting  the  seas  and  the  more  or  less  successful  at¬ 
tempts  lingered  in  the  memories  of  the  human  race  in 
just  the  same  way  as  the  broken  banks  and  line  of  the 
canal  remain  to  this  present  hour  on  the  isthmus.  Every 
traveller  crossing  the  isthmus  to-day  in  the  railway  line 
which  now  stretches  from  Port  Said  to  Suez  will  have 
pointed  out  to  him  in  the  desert  stretches  of  banks  of  the 
ancient  canal  which  are  still  five  or  six  feet  high  and  parallel 
to  each  other  at  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  yards  apart. 
Those  who  know  the  history  of  the  sweet  water  canal, 
which  at  this  present  day  carries  the  water  of  the  Nile  to 
the  town,  of  Suez,  are  also  acquainted  with  the  fact  that 
long  stretches  of  the  ancient  canal  were  used  in  making  this 
sweet  water  canal,  which  of  necessity  preceded  the  building 
of  the  great  canal  itself  through  the  waterless  desert. 

Historically,  the  next  great  character  who  entertained 
the  idea  of  building  this  maritime  canal  was  Napoleon  I. 


From  the  Ocean  to  Suez 


53 


He  sent  his  surveyors  across  the  isthmus,  but  abandoned 
the  enterprise  in  consequence  of  their  report  (1798)  which 
placed  the  surface  of  the  Red  Sea  nearly  thirty  feet  higher 
than  that  of  the  Mediterranean,  reviving  again  the  ancient 
fear  referred  to  by  Diodorus,  that  such  a  canal  opened  from 
the  Red  Sea  would  result  in  the  inundation  of  Lower 
Egypt.  It  was  not  until  forty-three  years  later  (1841) 
that  this  fallacy  was  finally  exploded  and  the  mistake  cor¬ 
rected  by  British  officers  sent  out  for  that  purpose. 

The  overland  mail  route  from  England  to  India  by 
way  of  Suez  was  opened  in  1837.  The  Peninsular  and 
Oriental  steamer  service  began  a  few  years  later,  and  in 
1857  a  railway  was  opened  in  Cairo  through  the  desert. 
This  line  was  abandoned  in  favor  of  the  railway  which 
follows  the  canal  from  Suez  to  Ismailia  and  Port  Said, 
and  then  ascends  the  Wady  Tumeilah  to  Zakazik,  whence 
branches  divert  to  Cairo  and  Alexandria. 

It  was  not  until  fifty  years  later  (in  1849)  that  Ferdi¬ 
nand  de  Lesseps,  another  Frenchman,  began  a  thorough 
examination  of  the  isthmus,  profiting  by  the  British  cor¬ 
rection  of  the  great  mistake  in  the  report  of  the  engineers 
in  1798.  Then  followed  one  of  the  romances  of  human 
history  in  which  wisdom  and  folly  seem  to  have  played 
their  parts  to  a  wondering  world.  The  indomitable  cour¬ 
age  and  foresight  of  de  Lesseps  partially  overcame  the 
doubts  and  credulity  of  the  financial  and  commercial 
world.  Work  on  this  modern  canal  began  April  25,  1859, 
and  a  little  more  than  ten  years  later,  November  16,  1869, 
the  canal  was  opened  for  navigation,  having  cost  about 
£20,000,000  ($100,000,000). 

The  original  stockholders  paid  for  400,000 

shares  @£20 . £8,000,000 

In  1867-68  another  loan  was  contracted  of . . .  .£4,000,000 
Repayment  in  50  years. 

Again,  in  1871,  another  sum  was  obtained  of . .  .  £800,000 
Repayable  in  30  years. 


54 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


The  remaining  £6,200,000  was  furnished  by  the 
Khedive.  It  is  between  95  and  100  miles  long,  traversing 
Lake  Minzaleh,  Lake  Timsah  and  the  Bitter  Lakes,  which 
prior  to  the  cutting  of  the  Suez  end  of  the  canal  were  a 
great  waterless  cavity  between  two  seas.  Its  opening 
was  marked  by  a  series  of  fetes  and  celebrations  which 
rivalled  the  stories  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  The  spend¬ 
thrift  Khedive  of  Egypt  made  an  exhibition  of  folly 
that  will  perhaps  never  be  repeated  in  human  history. 
It  is  said  that  he  spent  more  than  £4,200,000  in  enter¬ 
taining  the  nations  of  the  earth  who  came  as  his 
guests. 

Now  the  fact  to  be  emphasized  here,  which  can  be 
paralleled  in  the  history  of  so  many  Egyptian  enterprises, 
is  that  while  the  idea  dates  back  to  an  unknown  author 
in  very  ancient  times,  and  while  it  is  equally  certain  that 
primitive  canals  were  built  and  operated  through  many 
centuries  before  and  since  the  Christian  era,  and  while 
the  same  enterprise  haunted  the  great  brain  of  Napoleon  I, 
it  was  carried  through  in  our  day  by  the  brave  Frenchman 
whose  statue  stands  in  the  sea  at  Port  Said.  And  it  was 
completed  by  British  capital  and  to-day  is  mainly  owned 
by  the  British  Government.  Here  we  have  the  ancient 
Egyptian,  Darius  the  Persian,  Trajan  the  Roman,  Haroun 
Rashid  the  Arab,  Napoleon  and  de  Lesseps  backed  by 
France,  and,  finally,  British  gold,  all  entering  into  the  con¬ 
ception  and  completion  of  this  greatest  of  enterprises.  It 
has  proved  one  of  the  best  investments  in  history.  In  1875 
the  British  Government  acquired  177,000  of  the  shares 
owned  by  the  Khedive  for  the  sum  of  £4,000,000,  and  to-day 
they  are  worth  at  least  £20,000,000.  It  revolutionized 
the  main  lines  of  European  traffic.  Its  opening  coincided 
with  the  introduction  of  ocean-going  screw  steamers.  It 
has  restored  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  countries  a 
share  in  the  commerce  of  the  world  such  as  they  had  not 
possessed  since  the  Middle  Ages.  Its  story  has  played  a 


From  the  Ocean  to  Suez 


55 

great  role  in  the  hopes  and  visions  of  those  who  are  pressing 
for  greater  enterprise  at  Panama. 

Number  of  vessels.  Tonnage.  Receipts. 

1870 .  486  654,915  £206,373 

1880 . 2026  4,344,519  1,629,577 

1890 . 3389  9,749,129  2,680,436 

1899 . 3607  13,815,992  3,652,751 

1905 . 4115  18,308,498  4,554,672 

1908 . 3795  19,110,831  4,390,235 

1910 . 45 33  23,055,380 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  SPRINGS  OF  MOSES 

Captain  Peck  of  the  Khedieval  Steamship  Company 
had  kindly  taken  care  of  our  mail  and  the  packages  be¬ 
longing  to  our  medical  outfit,  and  assisted  us  in  filling  our 
water  barrels  with  filtered  Nile  water.  The  next  morning 
we  were  obliged  to  visit  the  Passport  Office  at  Port  Tewfik, 
and  from  thence  we  were  directed  to  the  War  Office  where 
our  pass  for  travelling  in  Sinai  was  countersigned  by 
Falconer  Bey,  who  also  gave  us  a  permit  for  our  one 
Winchester  and  two  shot-guns  and  revolvers.  At  the 
Custom  House  they  also  refunded  a  French  pound  which 
I  had  paid  as  a  deposit  on  my  rifle  and  shot-gun  when  I 
entered  the  country  at  Port  Said.  While  we  were  at¬ 
tending  to  these  various  matters  our  heavy  baggage  had 
been  sent  across  the  canal,  and  we  with  our  light  baggage 
and  guns  entered  a  boat  about  i  o’clock  p.  m.  and  sailed 
slowly  across  the  canal. 

After  fully  an  hour  in  the  unwieldy  Egyptian  boat,  and 
having  picked  our  way  past  the  various  buoys  and  lines 
of  piling,  we  came  to  the  wooden  landing-place  of  esh 
Shatt,  from  which  a  path  leads  up  to  an  elaborate  quaran¬ 
tine  station,  with  every  facility  for  isolation  and  disin¬ 
fection  and  a  good  water-supply  from  the  Nile.  About 
eight  camels  and  as  many  cameleers  stood  on  the  sandy 
shore  ready  to  pounce  upon  our  hand  luggage  the  moment 
it  was  lifted  from  the  boat.  The  camels  were  kneeling 
upon  the  earth  about  a  hundred  yards  away,  and  there  at 
once  followed  a  running  fight  between  our  boat  and  the 
ships  of  the  desert.  Some  of  the  swarthy  Arabs  were 

56 


The  Springs  of  Moses 


57 


eager  to  secure  a  rider  for  a  particular  camel,  others  were 
eagerly  desirous  of  securing  a  load  of  light  hand  luggage 
which  was  being  placed  in  hampers  of  netted  rope.  They 
pulled  each  other,  abused  each  other,  elbowed  each  other 
and  seemed  about  to  break  out  into  a  deadly  quarrel. 
We  took  a  hand  in  the  struggle  and  very  quickly  had  them 
separated,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  couples  who 
continued  their  battle  across  the  unbloody  sands.  Later 
on  in  the  journey  we  came  to  understand  the  meaning  of 
this  struggle,  because  these  cameleers  come  from  the 
various  tribes  of  the  Peninsula  and  have  quarreled  for 
centuries  over  the  transportation  of  pilgrims  to  Sinai. 
When  the  fight  was  completed  and  we  had  chosen  our 
riding  camels,  there  were  two  disconsolate  Bedawin  who 
started  off  without  either  rider  or  loads  for  their  animals. 
We  could  hear  them  shouting  vengeance  on  their  more 
fortunate  comrades,  and  the  discussion  concerning  this 
first  encounter  was  extended  through  the  following  sixty 
hours,  by  night  and  by  day,  until  we  threatened  to  dismiss 
the  whole  lot  of  them  if  they  did  not  postpone  their  settle¬ 
ment  of  it.  Our  plan  was  to  reach  the  Springs  of  Moses, 
where  we  were  to  find  our  tents  all  pitched  and  our  loads  of 
baggage  which  had  been  taken  across  the  canal  earlier 
in  the  day.  So  we  began  our  first  stage  of  camel  riding, 
and  after  the  usual  interesting  attempts  to  mount  the 
skittish  creatures,  we  succeeded,  and  at  once  set  off  on 
the  two  and  a  half  hours’  journey  through  the  desert.  It 
is  said  to  be  six  and  a  half  miles  from  our  landing-place 
to  the  Springs  of  Moses,  and  the  route  lies  along  the  raised 
sea  bed  which  stretches  from  the  present  shore  back  to  the 
foot  of  the  great  limestone  plateau  of  Tih.  We  passed  on 
the  left  the  quarantine  for  the  Russian  pilgrims,  who  still 
make  the  journey  to  Sinai  and  back  on  their  pilgrimage  in 
the  Holy  Land. 

We  noted  at  several  points  where  the  flints  are  covered, 
the  surface  of  the  sand  had  been  swept  back  on  either  side, 


58 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


leaving  a  fairly  clear  road  between  the  two  ridges,  and  we 
at  once  tried  to  realize  that  we  were  moving  along  one  of 
the  oldest  roads  upon  our  planet.  It  is  almost  certain 
that  turquoise  hunters  tramped  along  this  road  eight  thou¬ 
sand  years  ago,  and  that  conquerors  of  the  various  Egyp¬ 
tian  dynasties,  together  with  miners  of  all  ages,  had 
preceded  the  tribes  of  Israel.  Since  the  Christian  era,  and 
more  especially  during  the  last  thousand  years,  it  has  been 
the  road  along  which  hosts  of  pilgrims  have  marched. 

After  about  two  hours  the  sandy  plain  lifted  somewhat, 
and,  just  at  sunset,  we  found  ourselves  on  a  ridge  looking 
down  upon  the  first  oasis  of  the  desert.  These  so-called 
Springs  of  Moses  form  an  oasis  of  luxuriant  vegetation, 
which  is  little  more  than  half  a  mile  in  circumference. 
The  oasis  is  divided  up  into  four  irregular  sections  or  gar¬ 
dens,  each  of  which  is  surrounded  by  its  own  prickly  pear 
hedge.  There  are  perhaps  altogether  some  three  hundred 
date  palms  and  a  great  quantity  of  tamarisks,  which  make 
it  a  favorite  stopping-place  for  the  camels. 

These  springs  well  up  through  the  sand  and  are  retained 
in  large  pools,  the  largest  of  which  is  a  pear-shaped  cavity 
some  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  length.  The  water  flows  slug¬ 
gishly  toward  the  sea.  The  area  of  irrigation  from  these 
springs  is  increased  by  the  use  of  sweeps;  at  the  end  of 
each  is  an  oil  tin,  by  means  of  which  they  lift  the  water 
into  little  channels  on  the  higher  side  of  the  pools.  The 
whole  lot  of  these  gardens  is  worth  perhaps  500  liras 
English,  and  there  is  a  continual  fight  to  keep  the  sand 
from  blowing  in  and  ruining  every  attempt  at  cultiva¬ 
tion.  The  solitary  palm  tree,  also  often  referred  to  as 
standing  upon  a  mound  some  ten  minutes  toward  the 
south,  no  longer  exists,  because  the  sands  driven  by  the 
desert  winds,  acting  as  a  sand  blast,  cut  the  trunk  com¬ 
pletely  through  and  it  now  lies  fallen.  The  mound  on 
which  this  solitary  palm  stood  for  so  many  years  is  about 
15  feet  high  and  more  than  100  feet  across.  On  its  sum- 


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The  Springs  of  Moses 


59 


mit  is  the  pool  or  spring  seen  in  Figure  7.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  characteristic  of  the  springs  and  is  full  of  animal  life. 
The  adjacent  slopes  are  covered  with  fragments  of  Arabic 
pottery  and  with  quantities  of  slag  which  seems  to  have 
been  left  from  the  burning  of  lime.  Broken  shells  lie 
about  in  great  profusion,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that 
excavation  here  might  possibly  reveal  remains  of  Roman 
origin. 

There  might  as  easily  be  twenty  wells  or  springs  as 
three,  because  wherever  they  dig  the  water  appears. 
Three  or  four  of  the  springs  actually  overflow  the  edge  of 
their  pools,  but  the  little  streams  are  soon  swallowed  up 
by  the  thirsty  sands. 

We  found  our  camp  pitched  between  two  of  the  en¬ 
closures  which  gave  us  a  little  shelter  from  the  wind.  Our 
camels  and  cameleers  had  already  huddled  themselves 
in  the  lee  of  one  of  the  hedges  where  they  quickly  pre¬ 
pared  themselves  to  spend  the  night.  Our  four  new 
tents,  so  white  and  clean,  looked  very  inviting  at  sunset. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  were  awakened  by  a  moaning 
wind  that  seemed  to  sway  through  the  palm  trees  a  long 
while  before  it  began  to  rock  our  tents,  but  about  6  o’clock 
we  realized  that  we  were  to  have  the  unique  experience 
of  a  desert  sand-storm.  The  cameleers  had  decided  that 
they  were  not  to  journey  that  day,  and  began  to  make 
preparation  for  defending  themselves  against  the  rising 
storm.  By  8  o’clock  it  was  a  small  hurricane,  and  the  air 
became  dark  with  dust  caused  by  the  fine  sand  which  was 
the  first  to  be  lifted.  Later  on  the  whole  surface  of  the 
sand  was  in  motion  and,  as  the  wind  increased,  began  to 
fly  through  the  air,  cutting  our  hands  and  faces,  until  all  we 
could  do  was  to  wrap  our  heads  and  push  around  half 
blindly  in  the  storm.  Mr.  Taylor  tried  to  photograph 
the  sky  and  flying  clouds.  The  tents  rocked  and  swayed 
in  spite  of  the  stones  banked  upon  the  ropes.  Tent 
pins,  mallets  and  boxes  lying  upon  the  ground  were  soon 


6o 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


buried  in  the  sand,  and  we  realized  that  our  baggage, 
guns,  books,  clothing,  were  becoming  saturated  with  the 
finer  particles  of  the  yellow  sand.  The  wind  continued  in 
its  fierceness  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  and  while  it 
lasted  there  was  neither  eating  nor  drinking  with  any 
semblance  of  comfort.  Once  or  twice  it  let  up  a  little 
and  in  the  afternoon  we  got  a  glimpse  of  the  sun  through 
the  dust-laden  air.  All  the  morning  the  wind  was  from 
the  east,  but  in  the  afternoon  about  4  o’clock  it  veered 
round  south  to  the  west.  We  thereupon  ventured 
upon  a  walk  to  the  sea-shore,  which  was  about  a  mile  or 
more  away.  We  carried  with  us  a  single  gun  and  enjoyed, 
for  a  few  minutes,  a  whiff  of  the  purer  air  beside  the  waves. 
Before  we  could  return,  however,  it  again  blew  a  hurricane, 
hiding  the  whole  oasis  and  the  limestone  plateau  to  the 
east.  We  then  realized  that,  even  though  each  one  was 
the  owner  of  a  good  compass,  we  had  left  the  camp  without 
bringing  any  instrument  with  us.  As  the  wind  increased 
and  the  air  was  filled  with  the  flying  sand,  we  took  our 
bearing  at  right  angles  to  the  sea-shore,  walking  one  in 
front  of  the  other  at  intervals  of  about  five  yards,  in  order 
to  make  as  straight  a  line  as  possible  toward  the  oasis. 
The  men  meanwhile  had  grown  anxious  concerning  our 
absence  because  of  the  renewal  of  the  sand-storm.  We 
walked  for  some  time  in  uncertainty  before  we  discovered 
the  welcome  palm  trees  rising  through  the  dust-laden  air. 
The  wind  continued  at  intervals  all  through  the  night,  so 
that  the  sand-storm  lasted  practically  twenty-four  hours. 
The  new  tents  were  sorry  looking  affairs  on  the  morning 
of  the  second  day,  and  never  regained  their  clean  white 
color  that  we  had  rejoiced  over  in  leaving  Egypt.  The 
thermometer  during  the  night  stood  at  590  F. 

The  first  day  out  of  New  York  ended  in  the  dry  ship¬ 
wreck  of  the  “  Republic,”  and  our  first  day  out  of  Suez,  a 
still  dryer  sand-storm.  Had  we  been  possessed  of  sense¬ 
less  superstition  we  might  have  thought  it  was  time  to 


The  Springs  of  Moses 


61 


turn  back.  But  neither  experience  damped  our  spirits 
and  we  pushed  forward  with  as  pleasant  a  trip  as  was  ever 
planned.  Dr.  Goucher  once  mischievously  referred  to 
the  combination  of  what  some  would  consider  unlucky 
signs  in  his  own  case.  It  was  his  thirteenth  trip  over  the 
Atlantic.  The  ship  sailed  on  Friday,  his  berth  was  46, 
the  accident  occurred  on  the  23d  and  he  had  actually  been 
assigned  the  cabin  in  which  the  occupant  was  killed  at  the 
time  of  the  collision.  And  still  he  went  and  was  greatly 
refreshed  and  strengthened  after  the  trip  through  the 
Desert  of  the  Exodus. 


CHAPTER  VI 


FROM  THE  WELLS  OF  MOSES  TO  ELIM 

The  following  morning  (Friday,  February  19th)  the  wind 
was  still  high,  but  the  clouds  had  cleared  away.  We 
started  ahead  of  our  loads  at  8:  45,  and  after  riding  over 
a  few  slight  elevations  we  struck  a  plain  over  which  we 
rode  for  some  four  hours.  For  a  distance  of  twenty  miles 
there  is  hardly  anything  that  could  be  called  a  valley 
which  crosses  this  plain.  When  we  reached  the  fork  of 
the  roads  we  avoided  the  track  which  veers  southward 
toward  the  coast,  and  chose  the  track  to  the  left  which 
passes  inland  behind  the  sea  cliffs.  The  simplest  direction 
that  can  be  given  to  the  traveller  is  to  follow  the  line  of 
telegraph  poles,  near  which  we  kept  all  the  day  long.  We 
noted  the  fact  that  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  up¬ 
keep  of  this  line  of  wire  and  poles  have  learned  by  sad 
experience  the  cutting  power  of  the  sharp  sand  driven 
before  the  wind,  and  in  order  to  prevent  the  sawing  off 
of  these  poles  by  the  sand  blast  they  have  adopted  the 
expedient  of  planting  firmly  two  bits  of  old  railroad  track 
in  the  sand,  which  stand  above  the  surface  of  the  ground 
about  one  and  a  half  meters,  and  in  between  these  is  bolted 
the  wooden  pole;  and  this  device  saves  the  destruction 
of  the  telegraph  poles  by  the  sand.  During  the  day  we 
journeyed  under  a  clear  blue  sky  with  plenty  of  cool  air 
blowing  from  all  directions,  which  was  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  previous  day,  which  we  had  spent  in  keeping  our 
eyes  and  ears  and  throats  free  from  the  driving  dust  and 
sand. 

Those  who  have  not  had  the  privilege  of  riding  the  soft- 
footed,  slow-going  camel  (Fig.  8)  will  be  interested  to 

62 


* 


From  the  Wells  of  Moses  to  Elim  63 

know  that  it  is  an  exceedingly  pleasant  method  of  locomo¬ 
tion,  with  perhaps  one  single  exception,  and  that  is,  that 
each  time  the  camel  moves  one  of  his  feet  the  rider  is  obliged 
to  make  a  little  bend  of  his  body  forward  in  order  to  pre¬ 
serve  his  equilibrium  on  the  swaying  saddle.  We  amused 
ourselves  at  this  stage  by  calculating  that  each  one  was 
making  five  thousand  little  bows  hourly,  and  this  con¬ 
tinued  from  the  beginning  to  the  very  end  of  the  camel 
journey. 

All  during  the  day  we  noted,  in  a  thousand  examples, 
how  the  wind,  with  the  whirling  sand,  transforms  itself 
into  a  sand  blast  and  cuts  the  hardest  stones  and  flints  of 
the  desert,  large  and  small,  into  most  curious  patterns. 
In  many  instances  we  dug  up  nodules  of  flint  of  which  the 
upper  half  had  been  cut  into  all  manner  of  curious  shapes 
by  the  action  of  the  wind,  while  the  lower  part  still  retained 
its  sharp  or  rounded  character.  The  action  of  the  sun 
with  its  intense  heat  carries  on  a  never-ending  chipping 
of  the  nodules  of  flint  until  the  face  of  the  desert  is  cov¬ 
ered  with  millions  of  chips,  now  resembling  knives  and  now 
resembling  spear-heads.  Again  and  again  we  picked 
up  nodules,  which  in  the  hand  fell  into  fifty  different 
pieces,  into  which  the  flint  had  been  broken  by  the  ex¬ 
cessive  heat  of  the  previous  summer,  but  which  still  lay, 
like  the  pieces  of  a  dissected  puzzle,  waiting  for  another 
wind  storm  or  a  blow  from  the  foot  of  some  passing  animal 
to  scatter  the  fragments  over  the  sand.  In  many  of  the 
stones  of  softer  material  the  wind  bores  holes  that  remind 
one  of  a  dentist’s  skill  and  efforts  at  excavation,  and  then 
there  are  many  stones  which  show  both  processes  of  the 
sand  blast  and  the  chipping  by  heat. 

Toward  evening  we  crossed  the  wide  and  shallow  de¬ 
clivity  of  Wady  Sudr  or  Sudur,  because  there  are  more 
than  one  of  these  shallow  depressions,  and  pitched  our 
tents  on  a  bit  of  rising  ground  in  between  two  seils. 

During  the  day  we  had  found  time  to  inspect  our 


64 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


caravan,  plan  some  readjustment  of  the  loads,  get  ourselves 
into  good  marching  order,  and  at  evening  to  examine  the 
camp  in  working  order. 

The  outfit  consisted  of  four  new  tents  made  in  Egypt,  a 
1 2-rope  tent  for  the  kitchen,  two  12-rope  sleeping  tents 
and  a  14-rope  tent  for  the  dining  room.  The  sleeping 
tents  were  furnished  with  good  iron  bedsteads,  tables, 
washstands,  and  rugs  and  matting  for  the  floors.  The 
dining  tent  protected  the  canteen  by  day  and  was  used 
also  as  a  sleeping  tent  by  Milhem  and  his  son  at  night. 
Raschid,  the  cook,  always  slept  with  his  outfit  in  the 
kitchen  tent.  Twenty-one  camels  were  needed  for  our 
party  between  Suez  and  Sinai,  and  later,  twenty-two  camels 
between  Sinai  and  Akaba.  Two  camels  carried  the  kitchen 
chests,  one  camel  carried  coal,  one  the  casks  of  water,  one 
fruit  and  oranges,  and  another  live  chickens  and  the  oven. 
Two  camels  carried  the  dining  canteen,  which  included 
also  extra  provisions.  There  were  two  camels  for  the 
tents,  three  for  personal  luggage,  two  for  tent  pegs,  iron 
beds  and  so  on,  and  six  for  riding.  Our  party  consisted 
of  three  persons  and  three  camp  followers,  and  sixteen 
cameleers,  making  twenty- two  in  all. 

This  was  our  first  night  in  the  desert  and  its  charm 
settled  like  dew  upon  our  spirits,  and  was  never  broken 
until  more  than  two  months  later  we  abandoned  our 
tents  above  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  took  train  for  Damascus. 
One  never  ceases  to  be  surprised  at  the  hundred  little  con¬ 
trivances  and  conveniences  which  came  out  of  the  rough 
looking  bundles,  from  the  lanterns  to  the  flag  poles  which 
kept  the  stars  and  stripes  flying  every  time  the  tents  went 
up. 

That  night  the  commissariat  was  in  good  working  order. 
Raschid  had  all  his  kitchen  outfit  where  he  could  lay  his 
hands  upon  each  item,  from  the  rolling-pin  to  the  chicken 
coop,  and  he  soon  gave  us  a  good  specimen  of  his  skill. 
Milhem  and  his  son  Naif  unpacked  the  canteen  and  out 


From  the  Wells  of  Moses  to  Elim 


65 


came  the  shining  silver-plated  waiter,  the  platters,  the 
teapots,  the  candlesticks  and  an  endless  array  of  forks, 
knives  and  spoons,  not  to  mention  the  gilt-edged  dishes 
of  every  needed  variety.  We  could  not  but  recall  those 
ancient  Israelites  with  their  cakes  from  unleavened  dough 
and  their  kneading  troughs  upon  their  shoulders. 

It  was  somewhere  about  this  or  the  next  camp  that  we 
made  an  inventory  of  our  provisions,  and  it  will  be  a  matter 
of  interest  to  those  who  follow  us  to  know  something  about 
our  food  list.  As  Dr.  Goucher  put  it,  “We  had  nothing 
to  eat  in  the  desert  BUT — ” 


cauliflowers 

fresh  fish 

lemons 

new  peas 

chickens 

apples 

new  beans 

turkey 

bananas 

lettuce 

pigeons 

dates 

artichokes 

beef  steak 

figs 

carrots 

lamb  chops 

walnuts 

coosa 

veal 

almonds' 

onions 

tongue 

raisins 

garlic 

calves’  brains 

water  cress 

egg  plant 

sausages 

salads 

radishes 

kid 

dessert 

cabbage 

ham 

bucklawy 

turnips 

bacon 

Turkish  delight 

spinach 

eggs 

halawy 

tomatoes 

sardines 

cookies 

mushrooms 

thon 

rice  pudding 

rice 

marmalade 

custard 

lentils 

pickles 

chocolate 

tapioca 

fresh  goats’  milk 

tea 

shrimps 

oranges 

coffee 

This  actual,  not  imaginary,  food  list  is  what  we  were  able 
to  carry  into  the  desert  between  Suez,  Sinai  and  Akaba. 
At  Sinai  itself  I  shot  a  number  of  partridges,  and  beyond 
Akaba  I  shot  several  hares,  many  partridges  and  blue  rock 
wild  pigeons,  enough  to  serve  our  needs  until  we  reached  the 
Jordan.  There  are  locations  east  of  the  Jordan  where 
these  blue  rock  pigeons,  who  are  very  strong  fliers,  are  seen 
in  flocks  that  number  thousands.  In  a  previous  visit  to 
Petra  with  Professor  Myers  I  camped  some  distance 
above  the  entrance,  and  early  in  the  morning,  just  about 
5 


66 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


sunrise,  the  pigeons  which  nested  in  the  rocks  of  Petra 
itself  came  flying  over  our  camp  in  tens  of  thousands.  It 
took  but  a  minute  to  bring  down  with  my  gun  enough  to 
last  us  for  several  days.  These,  with  the  exception  of  ibex 
and  gazelle,  were  the  only  game  which  we  saw  east  of  the 
Jordan. 

There  are  already  three  or  four  words  which  have  been 
used  that  need  explanation.  Our  camp  was  pitched  in 
Wady  Sudr  or  Sudur.  Many  such  names  have  frequently 
more  than  one  form,  in  this  case  some  books  have  made 
use  of  the  singular  (Sudr)  and  others  the  plural  (Sudur) 
of  the  same  word.  The  word  Seil  is  really  a  Hebrew  word, 
and  is  the  word  which  in  the  Psalms  is  translated  “  water 
spouts.”  It  might  in  many  instances  be  translated  simply 
gullies  or  water-courses.  The  use  of  the  word  valley  in 
the  desert  also  needs  modifying.  For  example,  this  Wady 
Sudr  or  Sudur  is  a  space  from  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half 
wide,  and  the  streams,  whenever  there  is  rain  enough  on 
the  plateaus  above  to  cause  a  stream,  are  seldom  more  than 
two  or  three  feet  deep  at  any  point,  so  that  it  is  not  always 
easy  to  tell  when  you  have  entered  such  a  valley  or  when 
you  have  left  it,  but  the  Bedawin  Arabs  insist  upon  apply¬ 
ing  the  name  valley  to  these  wide  stretches  of  desert. 

The  popular  idea  of  the  desert  is  perhaps  as  far  astray 
as  the  popular  idea  of  the  oasis,  which  we  shall  deal  with 
later.  But  the  desert  in  Sinai,  as  the  desert  in  Syria  and 
Arabia,  is  not  simply  a  sandy  waste.  There  are  heaps  and 
stretches  of  sand  in  every  desert,  but  the  greater  part  of 
the  desert  here  in  Sinai  is  of  hard  dry  earth,  which  seems 
to  need  nothing  but  rain  to  transform  it  into  almost  arable 
land.  The  northern  part  of  the  desert  in  Syria,  that  which 
lies  due  east  of  Damascus,  is  in  spring  covered  with  grass 
and  flowers,  and  a  journey  across  it  at  such  times  is  easy 
for  the  camels  and  pleasant  for  the  traveller.  A  hundred 
miles  south  of  this  line  from  Damascus  to  Deir  Bekr  the 
face  of  the  desert  is  covered  with  stones,  and  by  some 


From  the  Wells  of  Moses  to  Elim 


67 


curious  process  these  stones  have  been  sorted  out  until 
there  are  miles  of  chips  and  pebbles  all  about  the  same 
size.  Beyond  you  step  into  another  stretch  where  they 
are  all  larger  or  smaller,  as  the  case  may  be,  until  certain 
sections  are  covered  with  chips  and  stones  twice  as  large 
as  a  man’s  fist,  and  again,  other  sections  are  graded  down 
until  they  are  as  small  as  peas,  and  underneath  all  this 
stony  desert  there  is  a  dark  loam-like  soil  which,  of  course, 
is  baked  by  the  fierce  heat  of  the  sun,  but  which  with  irri¬ 
gation  can  be  quickly  turned  into  land  that  would  produce 
crops.  The  same  is  true  in  various  parts  of  Sinai,  fierce 
heat  and  lack  of  rain  turns  into  desert  what  otherwise 
might  be  habitable  country.  Where  the  valleys  cut 
through  this  sort  of  land  and  produce  shallow  depressions, 
the  sand  from  the  sea-shore  and  the  crumbling  cliffs  of 
the  plateau  is  gathered  by  the  action  of  the  winds,  and 
shifts  back  and  forward  with  the  varying  seasons. 

On  Saturday  (February  20th)  we  struck  camp  at  Wady 
Sudr  and  continued  our  way  across  the  same  wide  plateau. 
After  about  three  hours  we  were  in  another  valley,  called 
Wady  Werdan,  which  is  a  broad  strip  similar  to  Wady 
Sudr,  containing  the  same  traces  of  torrents  and  the  shift¬ 
ing  drifts  of  sand.  Toward  the  sea-shore  in  this  valley 
Werdan  there  is  a  fountain  called  Abu  Suweirah,  from 
which  a  small  amount  of  sweet  water  is  obtainable. 

About  1 1  a.  m.  we  noticed  a  curious  effect  of  refracted 
light.  Looking  several  miles  ahead,  the  country  seemed  to 
have  taken  on  the  form  of  a  gigantic  shallow  bowl,  and  our 
caravan,  like  flies,  seemed  to  be  sliding  down  toward  the  cen¬ 
ter  of  the  great  cavity.  At  about  the  same  time  we  noted 
some  six  or  eight  miles  away  what  seemed  like  a  worm  or 
snake  slowly  sliding  down  from  the  extreme  opposite  rim. 
Our  curiosity  was  greatly  aroused  and  the  sharper  eyes  of 
the  Bedawin  pronounced  it  another  large  caravan  of  camels 
and  pilgrims.  It  was  fully  an  hour  before  wTe  met.  It 
did  prove  to  be  a  long  line  of  eighty-four  Russian  pilgrims 


68 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


coming  from  Sinai.  With  them  was  an  armed  cavass  of  the 
Russian  Consulate,  some  80  or  90  Arabs  and  104  camels. 
It  was  an  exceedingly  interesting  sight  in  the  desert. 
They  were  strong,  sturdy  men  and  women,  dressed  in 
their  heavy  Russian  clothing,  astracan  caps,  thick  leggings 
and  heavy  boots — exactly  what  they  wore  when  they  left 
their  distant  homes  in  the  depth  of  a  Russian  winter. 
One  woman  had  apparently  made  all  preparation  for  a 
heavy  rain,  even  though  the  sun  was  blazing  hot  in  a  land 
where  rain  seldom  falls.  After  mounting  her  camel  she 
had  enveloped  herself  in  a  tent-like  covering  of  black  shin¬ 
ing  oilcloth,  and  from  a  distance  resembled  a  funereal 
gondola  on  the  lagoons  at  Venice. 

About  every  person  in  the  long  line  saluted  us  politely. 
We  had  dismounted  and  were  working  our  cameras  as 
they  approached  and  filed  past  us.  Some  of  them  looked 
most  wofully  uncomfortable  and  were  weeping  at  the 
callous  inhumanity  of  the  camel  drivers,  who  paid  no 
attention  to  their  cries  or  fears  or  needs,  being  intent  only 
on  getting  them  over  the  desert  sands  and  dumping  them 
like  bags  of  charcoal  into  the  quarantine  enclosure  oppo¬ 
site  Suez.  The  great  majority  of  these  pilgrims  were 
elderly  men  and  women  with  a  sparse  sprinkling  of  younger 
women. 

This  caravan  recalls  an  experience  which  only  old  travel¬ 
lers  can  fully  sympathize  with.  Between  Suez  and  the 
Oasis  of  Feiran  I  had  used  up  two  films  which  contained 
24  of  my  desert  pictures.  Somewhere  between  the  Oasis 
of  Feiran  and  my  own  home  those  two  films  were  lost,  and 
I  shall  never  cease  to  regret  the  loss  because  they  were 
unique,  including  views  about  Suez,  the  camp  and  caravan 
after  the  sand-storm  at  Ayun  Musa  and  other  incidents 
along  the  way. 

Beyond  Wady  Werdan  a  range  of  hills  presses  down 
from  the  eastern  plateau  toward  the  coast  line,  and  about 
3  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  we  entered  these  hills,  and  be- 


From  the  Wells  of  Moses  to  Elim 


fore  we  left  them  finally  our  barometers  indicated  a  rise  of 
500  feet,  as  shown  on  the  diagram  (facing  p.  24).  Twenty- 
five  minutes  after  reaching  these  hills  we  crossed  the  ridge 
and  had  a  fine  view  of  Jebel  Hamman,  lying  almost  due 
south.  Our  course  lay  east  of  the  mountain  through  a 
stretch  of  limestone  country,  and  after  twenty  minutes 
we  were  in  the  Wady  el  Amara,  in  which  lie  several  masses 
of  rock  which  the  Arabs  are  always  glad  to  point  out.  In 
such  a  desert  country  anything  larger  than  a  pebble — a  bush, 
a  bramble,  a  tree — is  of  interest,  because  it  forms  a  land¬ 
mark  by  means  of  which  events  or  accidents  that  may  hap¬ 
pen  are  located.  Fifteen  minutes  beyond  the  “  stone  of 
the  riders  ”  is  the  little  fountain  of  Hawara,  concerning 
which  much  has  been  written  by  many  writers  because  it 
has  been  identified  with  the  Biblical  Marah  (Exodus 
15:23-25).  When  Robinson  passed  along  this  route  in 
1838  he  speaks  of  a  basin  six  or  eight  feet  in  diameter  and 
the  water  some  two  feet  deep,  but  no  traces  of  a  stream 
running  from  it.  Other  travellers  at  different  seasons 
have  found  more  or  less  water,  according  to  the  seasons  and 
according  to  the  condition  in  which  passing  caravans  left 
the  little  pool.  There  is  no  question  about  the  waters  being 
bitter  and  almost  undrinkable,  but  the  explanation  of  the 
degree  of  their  bitterness  is  interesting.  Whenever  the 
pool  in  which  the  water  has  been  allowed  to  collect  has  been 
cleaned  out  and  enlarged  the  water  becomes  a  little  more 
palatable,  but  when  the  winds  have  refilled  the  pool  with 
sand,  choking  the  little  fountain  until  it  rises  in  the  center 
of  the  sand-heap  to  its  greatest  possible  height,  it  then  of 
itself  forms  a  little  cavity  not  more  than  two  feet  in 
diameter  and  perhaps  a  foot  in  depth.  The  water,  then 
welling  up  in  this  contracted  cavity,  seeps  slowly  over  the 
edge  and  is  lost  in  the  sand.  This,  together  with  the 
evaporation,  renders  what  is  left  much  more  bitter  than 
when  the  pool  is  deepened  and  enlarged.  When  we  reached 
the  little  fountain  we  found  only  a  muddy  hole  from  which 


70 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


we  could  not  have  dipped  two  cupfuls  of  water,  but  the 
reason  for  this  was  simply  the  fact  that  the  large  caravan 
of  Russian  pilgrims  with  104  camels  had  passed  by  but 
a  few  hours  before  and  had  completely  emptied  the  little 
cavity  and  tramped  it  into  a  mud  hole. 

It  seems  very  strange  to  those  who  live  in  the  desert 
how  any  serious  discussion  could  be  held  concerning  the 
identification  of  this  little  fountain  with  the  Marah  re¬ 
ferred  to  in  the  Bible.  It  is  almost  exactly  sixteen  and  a 
half  hours’  camel  journey  from  the  Springs  of  Moses,  a 
distance  of  thirty- three  miles;  it  would  be  almost  exactly 
three  days’  journey  for  any  such  caravan  as  the  Children 
of  Israel  must  have  made.  It  is  in  the  desert  of  Shur;  the 
position  of  the  springs  and  the  nature  of  the  country  in 
general  and  the  character  of  the  water  tally  exactly  with 
the  Bible  account.  I  shall  return  to  this  point  in  another 
connection  later  on.  Suggestions  have  been  made  and 
questions  have  been  asked  concerning  the  sweetening  of 
this  bitter  water  by  casting  in  the  branches  of  some  of  the 
trees  found  in  that  vicinity,  but  the  Arabs  of  to-day  have 
no  clue  to  any  such  process. 

Wishing  to  reach  Elim  for  the  Sabbath,  we  found  this 
day’s  journey  too  long  for  comfort.  We  were  nine  hours 
and  a  half  in  the  saddle,  and  eleven  hours  including  stops. 
The  sixteen  or  seventeen  hours  between  the  Springs  of 
Moses  and  Gharundal  or  Elim  ought  to  be  divided  into 
three  stages,  because  the  camels  can  easily  go  two  nights 
without  water.  If  it  must  be  done  in  two  days,  then  the 
traveller  must  not  allow  the  cameleers  to  pitch  the  first 
camp  in  Wady  Sudr,  but  urge  them  farther,  and  if  pos¬ 
sible  pitch  in  Wady  Werdan.  This  whole  stretch  of  desert 
road  is  almost  absolutely  barren  and  waterless,  with  the 
exception  of  the  little  fountain  just  referred  to  at  Hawara. 
The  descent  into  Gharundal  in  the  late  afternoon  occu¬ 
pied  more  than  one  hour,  winding  back  and  forth  among 
the  hillocks  and  in  crossing  the  smaller  ravines,  so  that  it 


From  the  Wells  of  Moses  to  Elim  71 

was  considerably  after  sunset  when  we  reached  our  camp¬ 
ing-ground  in  Elim. 

The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  and  Wady  Gharundal 
proved  to  be  a  pleasant  camping-place.  In  all  this  journey 
we  never  found  ourselves  under  the  necessity  of  travelling 
or  moving  our  camp  on  the  Sabbath.  In  arranging  our 
dates  care  had  been  taken  to  spend  the  Sabbaths  in  pleas¬ 
ant  and  interesting  surroundings. 

Exodus  15:  27  records  that  the  Children  of  Israel  came 
to  Elim,  where  there  were  twelve  springs  of  water  and  three 
score  and  ten  palm  trees.  A  more  concise  and  accurate 
description  could  not  be  written  in  many  paragraphs.  The 
word  Elim  is  said  to  be  a  plural  of  Elah,  which  means 
“  terebinth,”  hence  Elim  means  “  terebinths,”  but  the 
name  may  imply  the  presence  of  other  prominent  and 
lofty  trees.  It  recalls  stories  of  crossing  the  plains  of  the 
West  when  early  settlers  camped  at  “  the  willows  ”  or 
“  the  cottonwoods.” 

According  to  the  Bible  narrative  this  is  the  first  sweet 
water  which  the  Children  of  Israel  found  after  their  pas¬ 
sage  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  same  remains  true  until  the 
present  hour.  Some  books  of  travel  remark  that  when 
rains  fail  for  two  or  three  years  in  succession  the  brook 
ceases  to  flow,  but  I  have  failed  to  note  any  record  as  to 
the  impossibility  of  securing  water  by  digging  shallow 
holes  in  the  sand.  Robinson,  in  1838,  saw  marks  of  water 
which  had  apparently  been  running  through  the  valley 
that  year.  Palmer,  in  1869,  found  a  running  stream,  and 
at  one  point,  where  a  broken  rock  caused  a  change  in  the 
level  of  the  bed  of  the  stream,  a  pool  large  enough  and 
deep  enough  for  a  pleasant  bath.  Petrie,  in  1904,  found  a 
good  stream  flowing.  In  December  and  March  he  says 
that,  roughly  speaking,  the  stream  might  have  contained 
a  couple  of  cubic  feet  per  second.  We  found  a  great 
abundance  of  water  not  only  in  the  pools  which  represent 
the  fountain  heads,  but  great  shallow  pools  fully  a  hundred 


72 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


yards  long  and  from  three  to  five  inches  deep.  Several  of 
the  holes  or  pools  were  filled  to  the  brim  with  quite  a  con¬ 
siderable  overflow.  We  filled  for  drinking-water  from 
those  highest  up  the  valley  because  they  were  subject  to 
less  contamination  than  those  below. 

Wady  Gharundal  or  Elim  is  deeper  and  better  supplied 
with  bushes  and  shrubs  than  any  other  valley  we  passed 
through.  There  is  also  quite  a  number  of  low  bushy 
palm  trees,  and  here  and  there  tall  stately  specimens  which 
rise  to  a  much  greater  height.  We  made  no  attempt  at 
counting  these  palm  trees,  because  their  number  must 
vary  considerably  from  century  to  century.  Growing  in 
the  bottom  of  the  valley,  they  are  subject  to  the  action  of 
flood-like  streams  which  rush  through  the  valley  at  un¬ 
known  intervals.  They  are  also  subject  to  the  action  of 
the  sand  blast  as  the  wind  shifts  the  drifting  sands  from 
year  to  year.  It  is  very  certain  that  if  the  Bedawin  Arabs 
who  own  these  palm  trees  were  asked  concerning  their 
number,  they  could  answer  with  an  accuracy  equal  to  that 
recorded  in  the  Old  Testament,  that  is,  if  they  wished  to 
do  so.  But  the  chances  are  many  that  under  ordinary 
circumstances  they  would  refuse  to  answer,  or  make  the 
number  much  smaller,  having  for  ever  before  their  eyes 
the  possibility  of  a  government  tax  levied  on  each  tree. 
Scattered  through  the  broad  valley  are  large  numbers  of 
the  ghurkud  bushes  and  many  turf  a  trees.  This  is  said 
to  be  a  species  of  the  tamarisk,  on  which  the  camels  browsed 
freely.  All  who  agree  in  placing  the  Mountain  of  the  Law 
somewhere  among  the  peaks  of  the  Sinai  group  have  no 
difficulty  in  accepting  the  complete  identification  of  Gha¬ 
rundal  with  the  Elim  of  the  Old  Testament.  We  found 
it  a  lovely  spot  for  a  Sabbath  camp,  and  as  we  roamed 
about  the  lonely  region  we  found  ourselves  instinctively 
searching  for  inhabitants,  but  in  this  whole  section  of  the 
valley,  where  the  water  and  palm  trees  are  most  abundant, 
there  is  not  a  sign  of  human  habitation,  ancient  or  modern. 


From  the  Wells  of  Moses  to  Elim 


73 


Another  writer  has  referred  to  the  fact  of  Gharundal  having 
been  a  station  on  one  of  the  Roman  roads,  but  they  cer¬ 
tainly  have  left  no  signs  of  buildings  such  as  are  usually 
found,  and  certainly  nothing  in  the  shape  of  a  bridge. 

Not  far  away  from  the  spot  where  we  camped  we  were 
pleased  to  find  the  tents  of  two  other  travellers,  the  Rev. 
Anton  Mayr,  of  Tandern,  and  Dr.  Johann  Gottsberger,  of 
Munich.  We  met  them  again  at  Sinai  and  many  weeks 
later  at  Petra. 

Our  quiet  Sabbath  was  spent  in  reading  and  in  dating  our 
letters  as  written  from  Exodus  15:27  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment,  and  in  many  of  them  were  enclosed  little  sections  of 
the  palm  leaves.  The  more  we  thought  and  read  and 
wandered,  the  more  remote  seemed  everything  connected 
with  the  modern  world;  we  were  beginning  to  live  with 
Moses  and  the  Children  of  Israel,  and  there  was  little 
difficulty  in  realizing  that  the  country  had  not  changed  a 
whit  during  more  than  3200  years  which  must  have 
elapsed  since  Moses  and  the  Israelites  pitched  their  tents 
in  this  same  lonely  valley. 

And  here,  according  to  our  promise,  we  shall  pause  long 
enough  in  the  journey  to  discuss  the  date  of  the  Exodus. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  DATE  OF  THE  EXODUS 

Chronology  is  usually  supposed  to  be  a  rather  dry 
department  of  knowledge,  but  there  are  ways  of  approach 
that  bring  the  remote  past  into  closer  relations  with  the 
present  time.  I  well  remember  as  a  boy  talking  with  an 
old  man,  Thomas  Dutton  of  Village  Green,  Pennsylvania, 
who  was  at  that  time  ioi  years  of  age,  and  who  remem¬ 
bered,  as  a  boy,  having  heard  the  cannon  at  the  Battle  of 
Brandywine,  September  n,  1777.  Now  fifteen  such  double 
links  as  his  life  and  mine  carry  us  easily  back  to  the  time 
of  Christ,  and  twenty-five  such  double  links  back  to  the 
Exodus. 

The  fact  has  already  been  referred  to,  that  highly  de¬ 
veloped  civilization  existed  in  both  Babylonia  and  Egypt 
4000  B.  C.  This  led  pseudo-scholars  to  leap  to  the  con¬ 
clusion  that,  therefore,  man  must  have  existed  on  the 
earth  for  many  thousands  of  years  prior  to  that  date. 
Some  even  ventured  the  suggestion  that  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  years  might  be  needed  to  accommodate  the 
Neolithic  and  Paleolithic  stages  of  human  life.  But  since 
then  every  deduction  of  sound  scholarship  has  reduced 
these  indefinite  periods,  and  among  the  first  attempts  to 
limit  the  years  was  one  that  called  for  14,000  B.  C.  Then 
came  another  reduction  to  10,000  or  8000  years  B.  C. 
Since  then  better  reasoning  has  brought  the  period  down  to 
6000  years  B.  C.,  and  there  are  not  wanting  indications  that 
we  may  some  day  see  even  a  closer  approximation  to  the 
old-fashioned  Biblical  Chronology.  Such  a  distinguished 
historian  as  P.  V.  N.  Myers  brings  all  human  historical 

74 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


75 

records  within  a  period  of  7000  years,  which  includes  the 
centuries  A.  D. 

One  of  the  sources  of  this  wild  reckoning  was  the  at¬ 
tempt  to  set  boundaries  to  the  so-called  Stone  Age  before 
allowing  the  Bronze  Age  to  begin,  and  repeating  the  same 
error  with  the  Iron  Age.  Then  there  are  well-known  ex¬ 
amples  of  overlapping  dynasties  and  divided  empires. 
While  journeying  through  the  desert  it  was  not  an  unusual 
sight  to  see  one  of  our  cameleers  take  from  a  pocket  or 
bag  the  Old  World  flint  and  bit  of  steel  to  light  his  long¬ 
stemmed  pipe.  Failing  in  the  attempt,  he  would  produce 
from  another  bag  or  pocket  a  box  of  matches  Now  any 
reasoning  from  the  completing  of  the  flint  fire  age  ending 
before  the  age  of  matches  would  result  in  confusion  only. 
Within  fifteen  years  it  was  a  common  sight  on  Lebanon 
to  see  camels,  a  form  of  locomotion  as  old  as  the  days  of 
Abraham,  toiling  over  the  rocky  mountain  roads.  Along 
with  them  other  lines  of  horses,  mules  and  donkeys.  Just 
above  or  below  them  stretched  the  smooth  white  diligence 
road,  built  by  the  French  in  1858-60,  over  which  rolled  the 
big  diligence  and  long  train  of  canvas-topped  baggage 
wagons,  while  now  above  them  all  or  below  them  all 
moved  the  swifter  railway  trains,  and  not  infrequently 
passed  the  automobile.  If  some  future  archaeologist, 
looking  back  into  our  present  age,  should  argue  that  the 
camel  must  have  disappeared  before  the  horse,  and  the 
old-fashioned  animal  pack  train  before  the  wheeled  vehi¬ 
cles,  and  all  the  horse-drawn  vehicles  before  the  locomotive, 
and  that  periods  of  time  must  be  allowed  for  the  develop¬ 
ment  and  disappearance  of  all  these  means  of  locomotion, 
neglecting  the  fact  that  the  camel  even  now  casts  a  dis¬ 
dainful  glance  at  the  aeroplane  in  Egypt,  he  would  be 
simply  imitating  some  pseudo-scholars  who  have  attempted 
to  deal  with  the  fascinating  facts  of  Egyptology. 

Egypt  is,  indeed,  the  Land  of  Paradox,  wherein  is 
tested  and  rejected  many  a  theory  made  and  worked  in 


76 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


other  lands.  It  is  beyond  all  question  that  the  so-called 
Stone  Age  overlapped  the  Copper  or  Bronze  Age  by  hun¬ 
dreds  if  not  thousands  of  years.  Copper  was  mined  in 
Sinai  as  early  as  5000  B.  C.,  while  matchless  specimens  of 
flint  knives  with  elaborately  ornamented  gold  handles 
were  used  in  sacrificial  rites  as  late  as  the  days  of  Herodo¬ 
tus,  484-424  B.  C.1  But  even  stranger  than  this  later 
extension  of  stone  implements  is  the  earlier  use  of  iron. 
The  transition  from  the  Age  of  Bronze  to  that  of  Iron 
in  Europe  took  place  about  800  B.  C.,  but  in  Egypt,  the 
land  of  wonders,  fragments  of  worked  iron  have  been 
found  between  two  of  the  inner  blocks,  far  down  one  of 
the  air-shafts,  in  the  Great  Pyramid,  dating  back  without 
a  peradventure  to  the  time  of  the  IV  Dynasty,  about 
3500  B.  C.2 

The  whole  Mosaic  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch  was 
once  impugned,  and  by  so-called  scholars  rejected,  be¬ 
cause  they  claimed  that  writing  was  unknown  at  the  time 
of  Moses  (say,  1550  B.  C.),  and  that  Abraham  (say,  2000 
B.  C.),  if  he  ever  existed,  was  an  ignorant  Bedawin  sheikh. 
But  in  Egypt  inscriptions  have  been  found  containing 
the  name  of  Menes,  whose  date  cannot  be  much  later  than 
5000  B.  C.,  and  other  inscriptions  which  may  be  earlier. 
A  papyrus  found  at  Sakkara,  in  1893,  contains  accounts 
dated  in  the  reign  of  Assa,  the  last  king  of  the  V  Dynasty 
(3500-4000  B.  C.).  This  papyrus  was  lost  to  human  view 
two  thousand  years  before  Abraham  was  born.  Another 
papyrus  (2500  B.  C.)  has  incorporated  within  it  the  pro¬ 
verbs  of  Ptah-hotep,  who  lived  centuries  before.  Baby¬ 
lonian  inscriptions  are  extant  of  Sargon  I,  who  flourished 
about  3750  B.  C.,  and  thousands  of  tablets  from  Telloh 
prove  the  free  use  of  writing  among  the  inhabitants  of 
Babylonia  at  a  date  which  cannot  be  placed  lower  than 
4000  B.  C.  Thus  writing,  like  the  existence  of  iron,  was 

1  “  E.  and  W.  A.,”  p.  14. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  1 1 2. 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


77 

well  known  2000  years  before  the  date  we  are  seeking  in 
Hebrew  history. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  yearly  chronicle 
of  events  kept  in  Egypt  and  Babylonia  (pp.  29,  30)  from 
the  earliest  period,  and  a  papyrus  of  the  Davidic  age,  now 
at  St.  Petersburg,  shows  that  a  similar  chronicle  was  kept 
in  the  Phoenician  cities. 

It  is  certain  that  the  writer  or  compiler  of  the  book  of 
Kings  had  dated  annals  before  him,  and  while  the  decipher¬ 
ment  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  has  shown  a  discrepancy 
in  the  sum  total  of  forty  years  in  excess  of  Bible  figures  of 
that  period,  we  are  not  at  all  hopeless  as  to  the  complete 
reconciliation  of  these  figures. 

While  the  Bible  is  not  a  treatise  on  Chronology,  any 
more  than  it  is  a  treatise  on  physics  or  astronomy,  it 
does  contain  a  large  amount  of  chronological  data  which 
has  been  made  the  subject  of  ingenious  and  exhaustive 
research.  Every  year  some  hitherto  unnoticed  coincidence 
is  brought  to  light,  and  these,  combined  with  similar  facts 
from  archaeological  research  in  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  are 
gradually  clearing  up  a  thousand  recondite  questions. 
Every  now  and  then  some  discovery  is  made  that  in  unskil¬ 
ful  hands  seems  destined  to  overthrow  Biblical  data,  but  it 
can  be  confidently  maintained  that  all  modern  research  has 
tended  and  is  tending  toward  a  confirmation  of  Bible  dates 
and  facts. 

Scholars  are  ever  on  the  watch  for  cross-references  and 
what  are  called  locking  dates,  and  every  year  reveals  some¬ 
thing  new  in  this  line.  Reference  has  already  been  made 
(p.  35)  to  the  astronomical  confirmation  of  the  date 
1580  B.  C.  as  the  beginning  of  the  XVIII  Dynasty.  Great 
light  has  been  thrown  upon  Biblical  dates  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Israel  by  researches  in  Assyria.  The  correctness  of 
Assyrian  figures  from  900-625  B.  C.  is  now  thoroughly 
substantiated  and  presents  a  practically  unbroken  record. 
An  important  locking  date  for  Old  Testament  history  has 


7« 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


been  fixed  by  the  inscription  of  Shalmaneser  II,  to  the 
effect  that  in  854  (or  884)  Ahab  of  Israel  was  one  of  the 
confederates  defeated  by  him  at  Karkar. 

All  modern  scholars  agree  upon  the  date  1580  B.  C. 
as  the  beginning  of  the  XVIII  Dynasty,  even  though  they 
do  not  agree  as  to  just  when  it  came  to  an  end.  Breasted 
gives  1350,  Toffteen  1345  and  Petrie  1312.  A  great  weight 
of  Biblical  and  archaeological  evidence  tends  to  locate  the 
Exodus  in  connection  with  this  dynasty.  The  data  on 
which  the  fixing  of  the  real  date  depends  are  no  longer 
unintelligible  to  the  ordinary  reader.  The  few  steps 
necessary  are  easily  taken.  The  burning  of  the  temple  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  year  585  B.  C.  is  a  date  almost 
certainly  known.  Then  by  a  process  of  dead  reckoning 
we  can  count  412  years  from  the  burning  back  to  the 
building  of  the  Temple  by  Solomon,  giving  us  997  B.  C.  as 
the  temple  date.  Then  1  Kings  6:1,  which  reads:  “  And 
it  came  to  pass  in  the  four  hundred  and  eightieth  [accord¬ 
ing  to  the  LXX  440  years]  year  [479  years  having  gone 
by]  after  the  Children  of  Israel  were  come  out  of  Egypt 
.  .  .  they  began  to  build  the  house  of  the  Lord/’  be¬ 

comes  of  cardinal  importance  and  the  figures  stand  as  fol¬ 
lows: 

Destruction  of  Temple . 585  B.  C. 

Date  of  building  997 . 412 

From  Exodus  to  building . 479 

and  we  have . 1476  B.  C.  as  date  of  the  Exodus. 


There  is  no  reason  to  cast  any  doubt  on  the  date  585 
B.  C.  as  the  date  of  the  temple  burning.  The  next  span 
of  412  years  is  reached  by  dead  reckoning,  and  when  we 
make  use  of  the  well-known  Assyrian  dates,  and  espe¬ 
cially  that  of  854  for  Shalmaneser’s  victory  over  Ahab,  we 
meet  the  discrepancy  of  thirty  years.  Now  if  we  modify 
the  Assyrian  dates  to  fit  those  of  the  Bible,  we  get  one  re¬ 
sult,  and  if  we  modify  the  Bible  dates,  as  understood,  to  fit 
the  Assyrian,  then  we  get  a  different  result.  Hence,  while 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


79 


Auchincloss1  gives  1476  or  1477  as  the  date  of  the  Exodus, 
another  scholar,  Toff  teen, 2  gives  1447  B.  C.  These  two 
are  really  the  same  date,  because  Toffteen  takes  968  B.  C. 
as  the  date  of  the  founding  of  the  Temple,  and  not  997, 
as  given  above. 


Joshua 

ii 

a 

Judges 

ii 

ii 

ii 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

ii 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

ii 

a 

i  Sam. 


5  :  6  — Moses  ruled .  40  yrs. 

14  :  10 — The  land  divided  at  the  end  of . . 6  “  =  46  yrs. 


24  :  31 — Joshua  and  “The  Elders” . 

3  :  8  — Servitude  to  Mesopotamia . 

3  :  11 — Othniel . 

3  :  14 — Servitude  to  Moabites . 

3  :  30 — Ehud  and  Shamgar . 

4  :  3  — Servitude  to  Canaanites . 

5  :  31 — Deborah . 

6  :  1  — Servitude  to  Midianites . 

8  :  28 — Gideon . . . 

9  :  22 — Abimelech  ruled . 

10  :  2  — Tola  “  . 

i°  :  3  — Jair  .  “  . 

10  :  8  — Servitude  to  Philistines  and  Ammonites. 

12  :  7  — Jephthah  ruled . 

12:9  — Ibzan . 

12  :  11 — Elon . 

12  :  14 — Abdon . 

13  :  1  — Servitude  to  Philistines . 

15  :  20 — Samson  ruled . 

4  :  18— Eli  “  . 

Samuel  “  . 

EXODUS  TO  THE  KINGDOM, . 

{Saul,  40  yrs.  I 

David,  40  yrs.  J- 

Solomon,  3  yrs.  j 

EXODUS  TO  THE  TEMPLE . 


60 

ii 

8 

a 

4 

a 

18 

a 

8 

a 

20 

a 

4 

a 

7 

a 

4 

u 

3 

23 

(C 

22 

u 

_ 19 

u 

=  200  yrs. 

6 

u 

7 

u 

10 

i  i 

8 

u 

20 

u 

(40-20) 

20 

u 

40 

ii 

__3  9 

ii 

=  150  yrs. 

396 

yrs 

=  83  yrs. 

T79  yrs 


But  the  greater  difficulty  centers  about  the  480  years 
mentioned  in  1  Kings  6:1.  Such  an  exact  statement 
requires  that  an  accurate  system  of  reckoning  time  was 
employed  by  the  Children  of  Israel  during  all  these  years. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  in  all  fairness  that  we  have  no 
real  confirmation  of  the  underlying  assumption  that  the 
writer  of  this  verse,  1  Kings  6:1,  makes  in  taking  for 
granted  that  the  Egyptian  calendar,  which  is  practically 
our  own,  was  in  general  use  all  through  that  period  in 

1  “  A.  C.”  p.  53. 

2  “T.  H.  E.”  p.  315- 


8o 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Syria.  It  has  been  well  suggested  that  such  a  provision 
would  be  found  in  the  yearly  Hebrew  festivals,  and  espe¬ 
cially  in  the  Sabbatical  and  Jubilee  years.  But  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  there  is  no  mention  in  the  Bible  of  a 
Jubilee  year  ever  having  been  observed  in  all  Hebrew 
history.  There  are  those  who  claim  that  the  480  years 
are  conjectural,  and  that  the  interval  between  the  Exodus 
and  the  founding  of  the  Temple  is  probably  nearer  300 
than  500  years.  But  those  who  wish  to  see  how  the  Bib¬ 
lical  data,  gathered  from  the  books  of  Joshua  and  Judges, 
fit  the  statement  in  1  Kings  6:  1  will  be  interested  in  the 
list  from  Auchincloss  (page  79). 

Those  who  question  these  figures  must  accept  the  burden 
of  proof  and  bring  forth  some  very  conclusive  arguments 
against  them.  Meanwhile  we  may  well  afford  to  wait, 
accepting  the  15th  century  B.  C.  as  the  century  of  the 
Exodus. 

There  is,  however,  an  extra-Biblical  line  of  argument, 
which  would  bring  it  nearer  to  us  by  about  two  centuries. 
It  runs  thus:  The  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression,  under  whom 
the  Children  of  Israel  built  the  treasure  cities  of  Pithom  and 
Raamses  (Exodus  1 :  n),  has  been  identified  as  Raamses  II. 
This  fact,  long  conjectured,  has  been  definitely  settled, 
so  it  is  claimed,  by  Naville’s  identification  of  Pithom  with 
Tell  el  Mashkuta,  and  the  further  discovery  that  it  was 
built  by  Raamses  II.  Now,  Raamses  II  is  a  well-known 
king  of  the  XIX  Dynasty,  and  his  date  1300-1234  B.  C. 
Hence,  if  Raamses  II  is  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Bondage,  then 
the  Exodus  must  have  been  in  the  13th  century,  or  200 
years  later  than  the  date  given  above. 

It  is  further  pointed  out  that  Palestine  was  for  many 
centuries  an  Egyptian  province,  and  that  Egypt  was 
supreme  there  from  the  days  of  Thotmes  III  to  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  Raamses  II  (except  during  one  short  interval) , 
or  in  round  numbers,  from  1500  to  1250  B.  C.  The  argu¬ 
ment  here  would  be  that  the  Exodus  and  the  Conquest 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


81 


of  Canaan  must  have  taken  place  after  the  Egyptian  su¬ 
premacy  came  to  an  end,  and  especially  since  there  is  no 
trace  in  Israel’s  tradition  of  the  Conquest  of  any  conflict 
with  Egyptian  forces  in  Canaan.  Hence,  Myer  con¬ 
cludes  that  the  Exodus  could  not  have  taken  place  later 
than  1180  B.  C.,  and  McCurdy  locates  it  in  the  reign  of 
Raamses  II  of  the  XX  Dynasty  and  gives  the  date  as 
1200  B.  C.  Rawlinson  and  others  make  it  1280  B.  C. 
Still  another  well-known  writer,  Mahler,  assuming  that 
the  Hebrews  are  in  some  way  identified  with  the  Hyksos, 
works  out  the  year  of  the  Exodus  as  1335  B.  C.,  and,  with 
the  help  of  rabbinical  tradition,  March  27th  as  the  day. 

The  brilliant  writer  Toffteen,1  recognizing  the  force 
of  the  arguments  for  both  the  earlier  (1447-1477  B.  C.) 
and  the  later  (1144-1180  B.  C.)  date,  and  taking  advantage 
of  the  critical  theories  of  the  documents  P.  J.  E.  and  D.  in 
the  Pentateuch,  has  worked  out  a  most  ingenious  theory  of 
a  double  Exodus,  in  which  there  are  great  similarities  of  the 
plagues,  the  names  of  the  leaders  and  the  routes.  He  then 
proceeds  to  select  inscriptions  from  the  monuments  and 
papyri,  which  constitute  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
chapters  ever  written  on  Biblical  archaeology. 

Taking  the  date  1447  B.  C.  for  the  Exodus  and  the 
statement  of  Exodus  1 2 : 40  concerning  the  entrance  into 
Egypt,  then  the  settlement  took  place  in  1877  B.  C.  One 
of  the  monuments  of  Sesostris  II  (1906-1887)  acquaints 
us  with  the  fact  that  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  king,  i.  e., 
1901  B.  C.,  a  caravan  of  thirty-seven  Palestinian  people 
visited  an  Egyptian  prince  at  Benihassan,  bringing  with 
them  eye-cosmetics  and  other  presents,  and  that  a  slave 
boy  was  in  their  company.  All  in  the  monument  have 
coats  of  many  colors  except,  of  course,  the  slave  boy.  Now, 
according  to  the  Bible,  the  Ishmaelites  also  carried  cos¬ 
metics  down  to  Egypt,  and  even  if  it  cannot  be  proved  that 
Joseph  was  carried  as  a  slave  in  this  very  caravan,  the  fact 

1  “  T.  H.  E.,”  pp.  223-282. 


6 


82 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


remains  that  at  that  very  time,  1901  B.  C.,  caravans  were 
passing  from  Palestine  to  Egypt  bearing  spices,  cosmetics 
and  slaves  as  the  Bible  states. 

Then  on  a  stele  of  Sebek-khu,  discovered  at  Abydos, 
there  is  a  figure  with  a  superscription  “  son  of  Jagp,” 
and  in  two  rows  behind  him  six  of  his  relatives,  one  of 
whom  is  his  “  wife  ”  or  “  lady,”  whose  name  reads  “  S-ny.” 
Now,  this  Egyptian  official,  Sebek-khu,  was  born  in  1917 
B.  C.,  the  date  of  Joseph’s  birth,  and  got  his  great  promo¬ 
tion  in  1887,  the  same  year  in  which  Joseph  was  made 
governor.  Now,  Genesis  41 :  41-43  says  that  the  people 
called  out  before  Joseph  “  Abrik,”  which  probably  means 
“  Bend  the  knee  ”  or  “  Bow  the  knee,”  and  the  chief  title 
of  this  Sebek-khu  when  raised  to  office  was  IVertu,  the  sign 
for  which  in  the  Egyptian  is  the  sign  of  the  bended  knee. 
The  most  remarkable  fact  recorded  on  this  tablet  of 
Sebek-khu  is  his  expedition  to  Palestine  against  the 
Retemu  and  Aamu  of  Sekmeni,  which  may  mean  Sikima, 
a  name  for  the  territory  about  Mount  Gerizim.  Now 
these  Aamu  correspond  to  the  Amorites,  and  Genesis 
48:  22  becomes  peculiarly  significant  where  the  dying 
Israel  says  to  Joseph:  “  Moreover  I  have  given  to  thee 
Sikima  (Shikmim)  as  a  portion  above  thy  brothers  which 
I  took  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Amorites  with  my  sword  and 
with  my  bow.” 

Just  before  Israel  died  he  requested  to  be  buried  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  after  his  death  Joseph  set  out  with  an 
expedition  to  fulfil  this  dying  request,  but  he  took  not  only 
all  the  servants  of  Pharaoh,  the  elders  of  his  house,  and  all 
the  elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  all  the  house  of  Joseph, 
but  “  there  went  up  with  him  both  chariots  and  horsemen: 
and  it  was  a  very  great  army.”  And  so  this  funeral  pro¬ 
cession  was  also  a  great  warlike  expedition,  the  Bible 
emphasizing  the  funeral  and  the  monument  the  fighting. 

Now,  while  no  one  can  absolutely  affirm  the  identity  of 
Sebek-khu  with  Joseph,  the  parallel  between  the  Biblical 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


83 


narrative  and  the  monument  is  a  startling  one.  “  Both 
were  born  in  the  same  year,  of  fathers  of  the  same  name. 
Both  marry  wives  of  the  same  name  (Asenath,  Genesis  41 : 
45,  50).  Both  are  raised  in  the  same  year  to  an  office  the 
title  of  which  in  both  cases  is  the  same,  at  which  time  both 
are  given  beautiful  names  that  are  very  similar  (Gen.  41 : 
45).  And  they  both  lead  expeditions  against  the  same 
people  in  the  same  lands  in  the  reign  of  the  same  king.”1 

Returning  again  to  the  Exodus  date  (1477-1447  B.  C.), 
it  is  not  hard  to  calculate  the  date  of  the  birth  of  Moses 
forty  years  after  the  Exodus  or  1407  B.  C.  Being  then 
120  years  old,  he  was  born  about  1526  B.  C.,  and  at  that 
time  Thutmose  I  was  king  of  Egypt. 

“  This  king  had  a  daughter  named  Hatshepsut,  one  of 
the  truly  remarkable  women  of  all  time.  She  was  born 
about  1540-45  B.  C.  She  must  then  have  been  between 
fifteen  and  twenty  years  of  age  when  Moses  is  said  to  have 
been  born.  The  events  of  Moses’  early  life  and  the  history 
of  this  Hatshepsut  fit  together  most  remarkably.  She 
became  co-regent  with  her  father  in  1522  B.  C.,  and  after 
his  death  became  sole  ruler  of  Egypt,  in  1508  B.  C.  She 
would  indeed  make  a  powerful  patroness  for  a  humble 
Hebrew.  She  died  in  i486  B.  C.,  and  was  succeeded  by  her 
half-brother  Thutmose  III,  who  hated  her  so  that  he  erased 
her  name  from  all  the  monuments  which  he  could  lay  his 
hands  on.  Her  partisans,  doubtless,  all  fled.  If  they  had 
not  done  so  their  deaths  must  soon  have  resulted.  Now, 
if  the  Biblical  dates  are  to  be  trusted,  this  must  have  been 
in  Moses’  fortieth  year,  seeing  that  he  was  born  in  1526 
B.  C.  and  this  death  took  place  in  i486  B.  C.  And  Jose¬ 
phus,  indeed,  states  that  Moses  did  flee  from  Egypt  in  his 
fortieth  year.”2 

Now  it  is  known  that  Thutmose  III  “  used  Asiatic  serf 
labor  for  brick-making  and  for  building  his  numerous 


1  “  T.  H.  E.,”  p.  243. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  249,  250. 


84 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


temples.  So  states  explicitly  his  vizier  Rekhmire.”  It 
is  known  also  that  he  had  Hebrews  in  his  army.  This 
cruel,  grim  Thutmose  III  fits  beautifully  with  the  Pharaoh 
of  the  Oppression. 

“  Thutmose  III  died  in  1450  B.  C.  If  the  Exodus 
took  place  in  1447  B.  C.  (1477),  then  it  must  have  hap¬ 
pened  in  the  reign  of  Amenhotep  II,  three  years  after 
Thutmose  Ill’s  death.  And,  indeed,  the  Bible  says  that 
Pharaoh  the  Oppressor  died,  and  then  it  was  that  God 
appeared  to  Moses  and  sent  him  back  to  lead  out  his  peo¬ 
ple.  Now,  Amenhotep ’s  constant  title  on  the  monuments 
is  ‘  Ruler  of  Heliopolis,’  which  indicates  that  that  was  his 
residence  city.  And  Heliopolis  is  only  a  few  miles  distant 
from  Goshen,  where,  according  to  Bible  accounts,  the 
people  were  centered.  Thus  the  frequent  visits  of  Moses 
to  Pharaoh  were  neither  inconvenient  nor  improbable. 
And,  perhaps,  the  utter  absence  of  all  record  of  a  Hebrew 
exodus  at  this  time  is  due  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the 
inscriptions  and  monuments  of  Heliopolis  have  been  for¬ 
ever  lost  from  the  face  of  the  earth.”1 

Forty  years  after  the  Exodus  the  Children  of  Israel 
entered  Palestine,  about  1407  B.  C.  (1437).  Amenhotep 
III  and  IV  ruled  from  1438-1370,  and  during  these  two 
reigns  the  Amarna  letters  were  written.  These  letters, 
about  350  in  number,  are  clay  tablets  covered  with  cunei¬ 
form  inscriptions,  which  deciphered  give  a  fascinating 
glimpse  of  the  world  at  that  date  as  seen  from  the  great 
throne  of  the  Pharaoh.  They  contain  the  diplomatic 
correspondence  of  the  kings  of  Babylonia,  Assyria  and 
other  countries  of  western  Asia,  including  Palestine  with 
the  Egyptian  Court.  Their  bearing  upon  the  Exodus 
is  twofold:  they  describe  the  breaking  up  of  the  Egyptian 
power  in  Palestine  by  the  extension  southward  of  the 
Amorites  and  the  Hittites;  and  they  mention  the  coming  of 
the  two  peoples  entering  Palestine  from  a  southeasterly 

1  “  T.  H.  E.  ”  p.  250. 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


85 


direction,  one  called  the  Sutu  and  the  other  called  Ha- 
bi-re.  The  consensus  of  scholars  identifies  these  Ha-bi-re 
with  the  Biblical  Hebrews.  Their  names  are  the  same 
and  the  chronologies  fit  perfectly.  Those  who  doubt  the 
identification  do  so  because  they  are  held  by  some  other 
scheme  of  chronology.  In  one  of  the  Amarna  letters 
these  Ha-bi-re1  attack  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Bible, 
Judges  1:  21  and  Joshua  10:  1-11,  says  the  same.  Then 
the  Amarna  letters  mention  a  number  of  persons  and 
places  which  are  easily  matched  with  Biblical  equivalents:2 
Hobab,  Joshua  and  Ehud,  a  judge  living  in  Jericho  at  that 
time.  In  fact  there  are  letters  from  this  judge,  written 
while  Joshua  was  drawing  near  to  take  the  city.3  And 
there  are  two  letters  written  by  a  certain  woman  so  unique 
that  a  number  of  Assyriologists  have  compared  her  with 
the  Biblical  Deborah. 

And,  finally,  an  inscription,  unearthed  in  1907  at  Bog- 
haz-koi,  located  in  Cappadocia,  and  identified  as  the  old 
capital  of  the  Hittites,  confirms  the  existence  of  the 
Midianites  as  near  neighbors  of  Moab,  when  Balak,  king 
of  Moab,  asked  the  “  elders  of  Midian  ”  (Num.  22:  4)  for 
a  priest  to  curse  his  enemies. 

These  are  only  a  partial  list  of  the  interesting  confirma¬ 
tory  non-Biblical  statements  bearing  upon  the  15  th  cen¬ 
tury  date  of  the  Exodus. 

Concerning  the  later  or  13th  century  date,  there  are  some 
curious  extra-Biblical  data.  For  almost  a  century,  ever 
since  the  study  of  Egyptology  began,  it  has  been  a  standing 
challenge  that  no  reference  to  the  Children  of  Israel  had 
ever  been  found  in  Egypt,  and  certainly  Biblical  scholars 
have  waited  patiently  for  the  great  era  which  is  just  now 
opening.  As  usual  the  discoveries  have  been  baffling  to  all 
concerned,  not  confirming  exactly  what  many  pro-Biblical 

1  Discovered  at  Tel  el  Amarna  among  the  ruins  of  a  residence  of  Amen- 
hotep  IV  about  160  miles  above  the  Delta  and  300  miles  below  Thebes. 

2  “  T.  H.  E.,”  p.  255. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  264. 


86 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


scholars  contended  for,  and  still  less  comforting  to  the 
anti-Biblical  critics  and  making  havoc  with  many  cherished 
theories  of  all  concerned. 

One  of  the  main  arguments  for  the  later  date  is  the 
statement  that  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression,  under 
whom  the  Children  of  Israel  built  the  treasure  cities  of 
Pithom  and  Raamses  (Ex.  i:  n),  has  been  identified  as 
Raamses  II,  and  his  date  being  1300-1234  B.  C.,  would  of 
necessity  bring  the  Exodus  into  the  13th  century.  We 
must  wait  for  further  light  before  we  can  pronounce  finally 
upon  the  validity  of  this  conclusion,  but  meanwhile  we 
may  suggest  two  things.  Many  cities  in  history  have 
been  rebuilt ,  and  it  may  yet  turn  out  to  be  the  fact  that 
Raamses  II  repaired  and  enlarged  a  previously  existing 
city.  The  change  in  names  is  not  an  unheard  of  thing 
either  in  those  days  or  our  own.  The  second  considera¬ 
tion  is  the  well-known  fact  that  when  inscriptions  on  the 
monuments  are  changed,  they  are  always  from  an  earlier 
to  a  later  date,  some  later  king  or  dynasty  laying  claim 
to  deeds  or  works  that  belong  to  earlier  reigns.  We  can 
conceive  of  confused  references  to  the  Exodus  two  centuries 
after  it  occurred,  but  it  is  against  all  possibilities  to  have 
any  reference  to  it  two  centuries  be fore  it  occurred.  There¬ 
fore,  we  rightly  prefer  the  earlier  date  with  our  present 
light. 

The  second  strand  of  this  argument  for  the  later  date 
(p.  80)  is  a  weak  one.  It  is  claimed  that  Palestine  was  for 
many  centuries  an  Egyptian  province,  and  that  Egypt  was 
supreme  there  from  the  days  of  Thotmes  III  to  the  end  of 
Raamses  II,  say  from  1500-1250  B.  C.,  and  therefore  the 
Exodus  must  have  occurred  later  than  1250.  Now  this 
general  statement  is  almost  absolutely  disproved  by  the 
Amarna  letters,  which  show  the  breaking  up  of  the  Egyp¬ 
tian  power  while  the  Children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness  (1447-1407,  1477-1437).  Diplomatically,  Egypt  may 
have  been  claiming  power  over  Syria  two  centuries  later. 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


§7 


The  same  is  true  in  the  case  of  every  nation  of  antiquity 
in  its  decline,  claiming  suzerainty  or  sovereignty  over  the 
territories  which  had  long  since  passed  from  under  its 
power.  We  see  the  same  in  Europe  to-day,  and  find  excel¬ 
lent  examples  in  Turkey’s  ownership  of  Egypt,  Cyprus, 
Morocco,  etc.  Ancient  possessions  lie  in  the  pompous 
titles  of  kings  long  after  the  people  have  forgotten  the 
claim. 

The  famous  Israel  Stele  of  Merneptah1  discovered  at 
Karnak  in  1896,  which  by  some  is  now  regarded  as  the 
first  real  mention  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  weakens  the  argument 
for  the  later  date,  because  Merneptah’s  date,  according  to 
Petrie,  1234-12 14  B.  C.,  mentions  the  destruction  of  Israel 
before  they  could  have  reached  Palestine,  according  to  the 
later  date  1250,  1200  or  1180  B.  C.  Now  it  is  much  easier 
to  imagine  that  the  fulsome  flatterers  of  the  king  Mernep¬ 
tah,  in  writing  an  inscription  of  his  exploits  in  Palestine, 
which  chronicled  the  destruction  of  the  Nine  Bows,  the 
Hittite  and  the  Canaanite,  to  have  included  Israel,  then 
in  existence  as  a  people,  than  it  is  to  reconcile  this  inscrip¬ 
tion  with  the  later  date  for  the  Exodus.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  we  well  know  that  he  did  not  at  that  time  succeed  in 
overthrowing  their  kings,  but  was  rather  overthrown  by 
them.  And  Raamses  III  may  have  used  serf  labor  for 
rebuilding  the  temples  and  cities,  as  almost  every  other 
Pharaoh  did,  but  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  these 
serfs  were  the  Children  of  Israel  (1202-1171). 


1  (From  W.  M.  F.  Petrie,  “Six  Temples  of  Thebes,”  PI.  XIV.)  This  in¬ 
scription  reads: 

“The  kings  are  overthrown,  saying  ‘Salami’  Not  one  among  the  Nine 
Bows  holds  up  his  head.  Wasted  is  Tehenu;  the  Hittite  is  pacified;  plun¬ 
dered  is  the  Canaanite  land,  with  every  evil;  carried  off  is  Askalon;  seized 
upon  is  Gezer;  Yenoam  is  made  as  a  thing  not  existing;  Israel — its  inhabitants 
are  destroyed,  it  has  no  grain;  the  Horite  land  has  become  a  widow  for 
Egypt.  All  lands  are  united,  they  are  pacified.  Every  one  that  is  turbulent 
is  bound  by  King  Merneptah,  giving  life  like  Re,  every  day.” — Gray, 
“  Numbers,”  p.  xliv. 

“This  allusion  of  Merneptah’s  is  the  only  contemporary  mention  of 
Israel  in  what  may  be  termed  widely  the  age  of  Moses.” 


88 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


In  answer  to  the  double  Exodus  theory,  it  may  be  said 
here  that  the  Bible  does  not  claim  that  every  Hebrew  in 
Egypt  went  out  with  Moses,  and  there  are  monumental 
references  to  small  colonies  of  Hebrews  remaining  in 
Egypt  many  years  later.  Now  it  is  not  at  all  impossible 
that  other  bands  of  Israelites  left  Egypt  in  succeeding 
centuries,  and  made  their  way  to  Palestine  by  one  or  other 
of  the  well-known  routes.  It  may  even  be  that  in  the 
re-editing  of  the  Old  Testament  manuscripts  overwise 
editors  may  have  thrown  in  a  word  or  a  name  confusing 
another  possible  route  with  that  of  the  Exodus  proper,  but 
I  cannot  feel,  after  years  of  study,  that  the  difficulties  are 
enough  to  require  a  double  Exodus  theory,  much  less  to 
prove  it.  If  ever  the  history  of  the  present  Zionist  move¬ 
ment  is  written  up  by  its  most  enthusiastic  upholders, 
they  will  hardly  claim  that  all  the  Jews  left  Russia  and 
Poland  and  New  York  and  came  to  the  Holy  Land  in  the 
20th  century,  and  I  imagine  that  in  Moses’  time  there  wrere 
many  well-to-do  Hebrews  who  preferred  to  remain  in 
Egypt  in  preference  to  the  journey  through  the  wilderness. 
I  can  also  conceive  that  in  later  times,  when  the  conquest 
of  the  Promised  Land  was  an  assured  success,  they  may 
have  followed  in  parties  large  and  small  to  share  in  the 
division  of  the  land. 

Hence,  in  conclusion,  I  record  my  firm  conviction  in 
favor  of  the  15th  century  date  of  the  historical  Exodus,  and 
remind  my  readers  that  the  discrepancy  in  the  double  date, 
1477  B.  C.  and  1447  C.,  is  a  discrepancy  that  lies  outside 

the  Biblical  records.  I  cherish  the  expectation  that  some 
day  we  shall  know  the  exact  date  because,  as  before  in¬ 
sisted  upon,  it  lies  far  this  side  of  the  middle  point  in  the 
great  stream  of  human  history,  and  that  each  succeeding 
year  of  investigation  and  exploration  is  increasing  the  data 
which  bear  directly  upon  the  problem  and  strengthen  the 
promise  of  a  final  solution.  And  whether  we  finally  accept 
the  earlier  (1477)  or  the  later  (1200-1280)  date,  let  us  keep 


The  Date  of  the  Exodus 


89 


firm  hold  of  the  fact  that  the  double  argument  strengthens 
rather  than  weakens  the  historicity  of  the  Exodus.  As 
children,  some  of  us  knew  of  no  date  and  no  discovery  of 
America  other  than  that  by  Columbus  in  1492.  Evidence 
of  another  and  earlier  discovery  does  not  take  anything 
away  from  the  fact  that  America  has  been  really  discovered. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  ROUTE  FROM  PITHOM  AND  RAAMSES  TO  SINAI 

Here  while  resting  at  Elim  we  will  examine  more  care¬ 
fully  the  first  section  of  the  route  as  given  in  the  Bible,  and 
dispose  of  some  of  the  objections  which  have  been  urged 
against  the  whole  region  of  Sinai.  During  three  or  four 
decades  the  Christian  world  has  been  engaged  with  the 
revision  of  the  Bible.  During  the  past  ten  years  we  have 
been  busy  with  a  revision  of  many  of  our  ideas  concerning 
the  Bible.  There  is  no  doubt  that  we  have  read  many 
things  into  the  Bible  which  are  not  there,  and  certainly 
others  have  drawn  many  things  out  of  the  Bible  which 
are  not  there.  Certain  old  hypotheses  must  be  negatived. 
Some  of  these  have  been  touched  upon  already  and  others 
will  be  touched  upon  later:  (i)  The  Biblical  Sinai  was  not 
completely  outside  the  pale  of  ancient  civilization.  (2) 
It  contained  important  mines  with  at  least  one  port  or 
landing-place.  (3)  The  northern  section  of  the  country 
was  intersected  with  trade  routes.  (4)  There  existed 
in  the  Peninsula  forms  of  religion  far  removed  from  the 
semi-fetishism  of  the  Arabs.  The  religious  center  at 
Serabit  was  primarily  and  essentially  Egyptian,  although 
there  are  traces  of  Babylonian  influences. 

If  I  were  to  draw  a  simple  symbolical  representation  of 
Sinai  it  would  consist  of  a  camel,  a  Bedawy  and  a  granite 
mountain.  These  three  constitute  the  essential  features 
of  the  land,  and  through  them  we  must  interpret  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  past.  It  is  said  that  in  New  Testament  times 
the  rabbins  ordered  that  those  who  ate  a  gnat  or  a  fly  should 
be  scourged  or  excommunicated,  and  hence  the  metaphor, 

90 


The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai  91 

“  straining  out  a  gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel.”  Ever 
since  I  have  been  journeying  into  this  section  of  the  world 
that  New  Testament  metaphor  has  been  running  through 
my  brain.  It  would  seem  that  a  large  number  of  modern 
commentators  who  know  nothing  about  the  country  of  the 
Exodus  at  first  hand,  were  living  in  fear  of  the  rabbins  when 
they  come  to  deal  with  the  geography  of  the  Exodus,  be¬ 
cause  they  are  constantly  straining  out  the  gnat  and 
swallowing  not  only  the  camel,  but  also  the  Bedawy  and 
the  mountain. 

In  the  revision  of  our  ideas  concerning  the  Exodus  we 
need,  however,  to  realize  clearly  that  the  Children  of 
Israel  could  easily  have  marched  through  Egypt  into 
Canaan,  from  the  Nile  to  the  Jordan,  in  a  single  year,  and 
that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  only  one  year  was  consumed  in 
the  covering  of  the  1100  miles  between  Raamses  and  the 
Jordan.  Eleven  months  were  spent  at  Sinai  and  thirty- 
seven  years  at  Kadesh,  where  they  settled  down,  roamed 
about  the  country  and  even  threatened  to  return  to  Egypt 
before  they  continued  their  journey.  There  is  no  a  priori 
difficulty  in  the  fact  that  the  Children  of  Israel  “  wan¬ 
dered  ”  to  a  sacred  mountain  called  Horeb,  nor  any  need 
to  regard  the  sanctity  of  that  place  as  having  been  ac¬ 
quired  in  the  time  of  the  Exodus.  Nor  is  there  a  shred  of 
proof  to  justify  the  suggestion  that  the  sacredness  of  the 
whole  district  was  something  projected  back  upon  the 
story  by  later  chroniclers.  Furthermore,  I  have  come  to 
believe  with  an  unshakable  conviction  that  Moses  knew 
the  whole  district  of  Sinai  as  fully  as  any  Arab  sheikh  of 
the  country  knows  it  to-day,  and  that  the  thirty-seven 
years  of  the  Exodus  were  not  spent  in  blundering  attempts 
to  find  the  way  either  through  or  out  of  the  country.  He 
had  already  spent  forty  years,  according  to  the  Bible,  in 
that  desert,  he  had  taken  a  wife  from  among  the  Kenites. 
His  father-in-law  met  him  at  Sinai,  and  for  thirty-seven 
years  the  Children  of  Israel  dwelt  with  and  among  their 


9  2 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


friends  the  Kenites  about  Kadesh  Barnea.  These  same 
Kenites,  befriending  the  Children  of  Israel,  incurred  the 
enmity  of  the  enemies  of  the  Israelites,  so  that  when  finally 
the  Children  of  Israel  undertook  the  last  section  of  their 
journey,  these  Kenites  journeyed  with  them  to  Jericho, 
and  four  hundred  years  later  King  Saul  mentions  their 
kindness  to  the  Children  of  Israel  when  they  came  out  of 
Egypt. 

The  “  wandering  ”  of  the  Children  of  Israel  is  another 
idea  into  which  we  have  unconsciously  read  much  more 
than  the  Bible  and  the  facts  warrant.  A  glance  at  any  good 
concordance  of  the  English  Bible  will  reveal  the  fact  that 
at  least  eight  distinct  Hebrew  words  have  all  been  trans¬ 
lated  by  the  one  English  word  “  to  wander.”  It  is  per¬ 
fectly  certain  that  our  one  word  cannot  cover  the  various 
meanings  which  a  pastoral  people  living  in  such  a  section 
of  the  country  attached  to  these  various  words,  and  in  the 
discussion  of  the  second  portion  of  the  route  I  shall  return 
to  this  item. 


References.  Names  of  Places. 


Dates  of  Arrival.  Miles. 


Exodus 

Numbers 

Exodus 

ii 

ii 

u 

ii 

a 

Numbers 

Exodus 

Numbers 

ii 


Exodus 


Num 


bers 


12:37  Left  Rameses — “Zoan” 

33:  5  Arrival  at  Succoth . 

15:  22  Etham  or  Shur . 

14:  9  Pi-hahiroth . 

14: 15  Crossed  the  Red  Sea. . . 
15:  22  Wilderness  of  Shur. 

15:23  Marah . 

15:  27  Elim . 

33: 10  “By  the  Red  Sea” . 

16: 1  Wilderness  of  Sin . . 

33: 12  Dophkah  (camped) _ 

33:13  Alush . 

17: 1  Rephidim . . 

19:  2  Desert  of  Sinai . 

19: 1  Arrived  at  Mt.  Sinai. . . 

10: 11  Left  Mt.  Sinai . 

11:3  Taberah  (camped)) 

11:34  Kibroth-hattaavah . 

11:35  Hazeroth . 

12:16  Wilderness  of  Paran. . . . 

33: 18  Rithmah  (camped) . 

33: 19  Rimmon-parez . 

33:  20  Libnah . . 

33:21  Rissah . 

33:22  Kehelathah . 

33:  23  Mt.  Shapher . 

33:  24  Haradah . 

33:  25  Makhaloth . 

33:  26  Jahath  (camped) . 

33:  27  Tarah . 

33:  28  Mithcah . 


.B.  C.  1477,  April  19 
April 

ii  U 

a 

“  probably  May 

a  a 

a  a 

a  a 

a  a 

“  May  19 

a  a 

May 

ii  U 

ii  ii 

“  June  3d 

.B.  C.  1476,  May  12th 
.  B.  C.,  1476,  May  15th 

“  month  of  June 

.  “  probably  June 

ii  ii 

ii  ii 

a  a 

a  a 

a  a 

a  a 

a  a 

a  a 

“  probably  July 

«<  « 


30 

42 


47 

28 


82 


The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai  93 


References. 


Names  of  Places. 


Numbers 

ii 

it 

a 

a 

a 

ii 

Judges 

Numbers 

a 

a 

Joshua 

Deut. 

ii 

ii 

Numbers 

Deut. 

ii 

Judges 

Numbers 

Deut. 

ii 

Numbers 

ii 

ii 

ii 

Deut. 

Numbers 

Deut. 

Numbers 

ii 

a 

a 

a 

Deut. 

ii 

Joshua 

ii 

Numbers 

u 

Joshua 

U 

Numbers 

i< 

ii 

ii 

a 

u 

Joshua 

Deut. 

ii 

ii 

ii 

Numbers 

Deut. 

Joshua 

Deut. 

Joshua 

Deut. 

1  Kings 

Joshua 

Numbers 

Joshua 

Numbers 

ii 

ii 

Deut. 

Joshua 

ii 


33:  29  Hashmonah . 

33: 30  Moseroth  (camped) . . 

33:31  Bene-jaakan . 

33:32  Hor-hagidgad . 

33:33  Jotbathah . 

33:34  Ebronah  (camped) . . 

33:35  Ezion-gaber . 

11: 16  The  Red  Sea  to  Kadesh . . 

13'  21  }  Wilderness  of  Paran  or  Zin 
20:1,22  (“People  abode  in  Kadesh”.. 

24:7  s 

1 :  46  (.  (Ayn  Qadees) . 

2: 1, 14  Left  Kadesh  after  38  years. 

10: 6  Beeroth . . 

33:37  Mosera,  facing  Mt.  Hor1 . 

10:7  Gudgodah . 

10: 7  Jotbath  . 

1:17  Hormah  or  Zephath . 

21:3 

2:8  Plain  or  Way  of  the  Arabah . . . 

2:8  Wilderness  of  Moab . 

33:41  Zalmonah . 

33:42  Punon . 

21: 10  Oboth . 

21: 11  Ije-abarim . 

1: 1  Tophel . 

21:12  Valley  of  Zared . 

2:  26  Wilderness  of  Kedemoth . 

21: 14  Brooks  of  Arnon . 

21: 16  Beer . 

21:18  Mattanah . 

21: 19  Nahaliel . 

21: 19  Bamoth . 

2:32  Jahaz . 

4:  43  Bezer — city  of  refuge . 

13:9  Areor . 

13: 17  Dibon . 

32:3  Ataroth . 

33:46  Almon-diblathaim . 

13:9  Madeba . 

13:17  Baal-meon . 

33:47  Mts.  of  Abarim,  Nebo . 

21:  25  Heshbon . 

32:37  Elealah . 

21: 32  Jaazer . 

32:3s  Jogbehah . 

21: 33  Ederi . 

13: 31  Ashtaroth. . . 

4:43  Golan — city  of  refuge . 

3: 4  60  cities  of  Bashan . 

3:0.9  . 

4: 48  Mt.  Hermon . 

32:  42  Kenath . 

3: 10  Salchah. . 

13:  26  Mahanaim . 

3:16  River  Jabbok . 

13:  27  Succoth  and  Zaphon . 

22^3}  Ram°th-gilead — city  of  refuge 

13:  26  Betonim . 

32:36  Beth-nimrah . 

13:27  Beth-aram . 

33:49  Beth-jeshimoth . 

33:  50  Plains  of  Moab . 

25: 1  Shittim . 

4:46  Beth-peor . 

3:14  Crossed  the  Jordan . 

4: 19  Gilgal  taken . 


Dates  of  Arrival.  Miles. 
B.  C.  1476,  Probably  July 


ii 

ii 

a 

a 

a 

a 


a 

a 


a 

a 


month  of  July 


116 

97 

86 


B.  C.  1475,  March  12th 
B.  C.  1438,  month  of  July 


ii 

ii 

ii 

ii 

ii 

ii 

ii 

ii 

ii 


a 

a 


July  20th 
August  20th 
probably  Aug. 


probably  Sept. 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 

a 


a 

a 

a 

u 

a 

a 

a 

a 


40 

102 

56 


87 


27 


a 

a 


a 

a 


a 

a 

a 


probably  Oct.  25 


ii 

ii 


68 


ii 

ii 


a 

a 


B.  C.  1438,  probably  Oct. 

probably  Nov. 


102 

56 

24 


ii 

ii 

ii 

it 


it 

ii 

it 

it 


II 


it 

a 


Winter 


B.C.  1437,  March  21st  24 


1  Jebel  Madurah. 


Total  1150 


94 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Finally,  in  this  revision  of  our  ideas,  it  is  necessary  to 
grasp  the  fact  that  the  Bible  record  of  the  Route  is  com¬ 
plete.  “  The  history  of  their  journey  is  scattered  through 
half  a  dozen  different  books;  the  records  change  back  and 
forth  from  one  place  to  another  nearly  a  hundred  times, ” 
and  in  order  to  make  this  perfectly  clear  and  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  reference  I  have  introduced  (pp.  92,  93)  Israel’s 
itinerary  as  given  by  Mr.  Auchincloss.1 

I  have  already  remarked  elsewhere  (p.  22)  that  the  first 
section  of  the  route  from  Pithom  to  Raamses  is  well 
known,  and  that  the  fourth  section  from  Akaba  to  the 
Jordan  is  also  well  known;  that  the  difficulties  concerning 
the  route  lie  in  the  second  section  from  Sinai  to  Akaba, 
and  in  the  loop  section  extending  from  Akaba  to  Kadesh 
Barnea  and  back  again. 

I  am  well  aware  that  certain  commentators  in  straining 
out  gnats  have  swallowed  both  the  camel  and  the  moun¬ 
tain  in  asserting  that  the  Biblical  Mount  Sinai  was  not  in 
the  Peninsula  at  all,  and  that  the  final  resolution  of  this 
whole  problem  must  rest  upon  a  discrimination  of  the 
documents  (see  Chapter  XVIII)  and  upon  the  results 
of  further  archaeological  investigation,  not  only  in  the 
Peninsula,  but  also  to  the  north  and  east  of  it.  Since  my 
return  two  years  ago  I  believe  I  have  read  almost  every 
argument  that  has  been  urged  in  favor  of  this  imaginary 
location  east  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  in  the  imaginary  land 
of  the  Midianites,  and  I  am  constrained  to  say  that  no 
hypothesis  ever  brought  was  more  gratuitous  and  un¬ 
necessary.  The  evidence  at  hand  in  favor  of  the  traditional 
location  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law  as  among  the  peaks  of 
the  Sinai  group  is,  to  my  mind,  absolutely  convincing,  and 
in  presenting  the  cumulative  evidence  for  my  belief  I  shall 
have  in  mind  the  various  points  which  have  supported 
this  other  impossible  hypothesis. 

The  Sinai-Midianite  hypothesis  is  one  of  a  chain  like  the 


The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai  95 


cycles  and  epicycles  of  ancient  astronomy.  Each  time  they 
meet  a  fresh  difficulty  they  add  a  new  cycle,  and  this  in¬ 
volves  a  new  set  of  epicycles;  so  it  is  with  the  Sinai- 
Midianite  hypothesis,  it  involves  the  Ishmaelites  and  the 
Midianites  and  the  Kenites,  and  a  great  deal  of  imaginary 
geography.  Many  of  those  who  have  inclined  to  this 
hypothesis  have  usually  wound  up  their  arguments  by 
saying  that  we  must  wait  for  a  more  careful  survey  of  all 
the  country  north  and  east  of  Sinai.  I  should  like  to 
remind  all  those  who  cherish  the  expectation  of  any  con¬ 
firmation  from  such  surveys  that  their  hope  is  groundless. 
During  the  last  ten  years  the  whole  section  of  the  country 
from  Damascus  to  Medina  has  been  surveyed  by  the 
German  engineers  who  have  built  the  Mecca  pilgrimage 
railway,  and  all  along  the  line  they  have  conducted  ex¬ 
ploring  expeditions  east  and  west,  until  we  have  accurate 
maps  of  the  whole  country  east  and  south  of  the  head  of 
the  Gulf  of  Akaba.  I  have  had  several  conferences  with 
Meisner  Pasha,  the  head  surveyor  and  brilliant  German 
scholar,  interested  in  every  problem  concerning  the  people 
and  history  and  archaeology  and  mineralogy  of  that  part 
of  the  world,  and  neither  he  nor  any  of  those  who  have 
labored  with  him  of  various  nationalities  have  a  single 
suggestion  to  make  that  would  in  any  wise  support  this 
Sinai-Midianite  hypothesis.  And  one  other  observation 
before  I  leave  this  point.  So  much  of  the  reasoning  has 
been  based  upon  the  various  names  of  the  tribes  and  the 
divisions  of  these  tribes  by  those  who  have  no  com¬ 
parative  knowledge  of  what  exists  in  this  section  of  the 
world  to-day.  Much  of  this  reasoning  can  be  shown  to  be 
absolutely  irrelevant  by  noting  some  of  the  present  condi¬ 
tions:  the  same  man  can  to-day  be  spoken  of  as  a  Syrian, 
an  Arab,  a  Moslem,  a  Bedawy  and  a  Turk.  In  exactly  the 
same  way  as  a  New  Englander  could  be  spoken  of  as  a 
Vermont  man,  a  prohibitionist,  a  Baptist  and  a  vegetarian. 
It  all  bears  upon  the  connection  in  which  we  are  speaking 


96 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


of  him.  In  a  geographical  sense  he  is  a  Syrian,  as  far  as 
blood  is  concerned  he  is  an  Arab,  in  religion  he  is  a  Moslem, 
because  he  is  a  dweller  in  tents  he  is  a  Bedawy,  politically, 
as  a  subject  of  the  Sultan,  he  is  a  Turk. 

I  might  go  further  and  explain  how  the  Arabs  of  the 
desert  are  divided  into  great  tribes,  such  as  the  Bani, 
Sakhr  (children  of  the  rock);  the  Bani-Saad  (children  of 
some  distinguished  ancestor  of  that  name),  the  Rouella 
and  the  Anazi.  These  great  tribes  are  again  subdivided 
into  great  families  or  clans  who  are  often  unfriendly  with 
each  other.  After  much  review  and  study  I  am  inclined 
to  feel  that  the  “  Midianites  ”  was  a  term  used  to 
embrace  almost  everybody  living  east  of  the  Jordan, 
and  that  the  Ishmaelites  were  a  section  of  them  and  the 
Kenites1  a  still  smaller  section.  Living  on  the  border¬ 
land  between  ancient  civilization  and  the  desert,  some  of 
them  were  traders,  like  those  who  carried  Joseph  into 
Egypt,  dealing  in  frankincense  and  myrrh,  while  others 
were  an  altogether  pastoral  people.  This  easily  explains 
the  opposite  qualities  of  the  various  sections  with  whom 
the  Children  of  Israel  came  into  contact.  The  Kenites, 
among  whom  the  Children  of  Israel  dwelt  for  thirty-seven 
years,  were  apparently  quiet  pastoral  people,  whereas  the 
Midianites,  with  whom  the  Children  of  Israel  came  into 
contact  on  the  Plains  of  Moab,  were  distinguished  by  their 
licentiousness.  The  various  names  applied  to  them  were 
supplied  by  the  circumstances  of  the  contact  and  inter¬ 
course  in  just  the  same  way  as,  for  one  reason  or  other, 
we  differentiate  between  Syrian,  Moslem,  Arab,  Bedawy 
and  Turk. 

The  argument  which  covers  and  fixes  the  first  section  of 
the  Route,  and  with  it  the  true  location  of  the  mountain  of 
the  Law,  is  cumulative  and  may  be  stated  somewhat  as 
follows:  Water  governs  everything,  and  what  this  means 
in  the  Desert  of  Sinai  is  interpreted  to  us  beyond  a  per- 
1  The  Rechabites  were  descendants  of  the  Kenites. — 1  Chron.  2:  55. 


The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai  97 


adventure  by  the  camel,  the  Bedawy  and  the  mountain, 
which  have  garnered  for  us  the  residuum  of  human  experi¬ 
ence  from  all  the  ages.  The  conditions  of  life  in  this  battle 
between  the  human  frame,  animal  life  and  vegetable  life, 
and  the  almost  intolerable  conditions  of  nature,  have 
stripped  the  problem  of  every  transitory  accessory  and  have 
left  it  as  hard  and  dry  and  fixed  as  the  granite  of  Sinai 
itself. 

The  Land  of  Goshen  has  been  fully  identified,  and  the 
origin  of  the  ancient  name  Geshem  or  Gesem  has  been 
picked  up  in  the  ancient  hieroglyphic  list  of  “  Nomes  ” 
or  administrative  districts  of  Egypt.  Kesem  is  mentioned 
as  the  twentieth  Nome  of  Lower  Egypt  and  its  capital  was 
Pa-Soft.  Pithom  was  recovered  by  Naville  (1885),  at 
Tell  el-Mashkuta,  “  Mount  of  the  Statue,”  so  named  from 
a  statue  which  is  there  at  the  present  time,  of  Raamses  II, 
sitting  between  the  two  solar  deities  Ra  and  Turn.  It 
was  a  square  city  about  220  yards  in  length  enclosed  by 
enormous  brick  walls  and  containing  a  great  series  of 
store-chambers  and  a  temple.  The  general  form  of  these 
store-chambers  is  now  well  known  from  the  representa¬ 
tions  of  them  on  the  walls  of  temples  and  palaces.  The 
ancient  name  of  the  place  was  Pi- turn,  the  “  House  of 
Turn,”  and  was  used  purely  as  a  magazine  for  supplying 
provisions  to  Egyptian  armies  about  to  cross  the  desert 
and  perhaps  also  a  fortress  for  the  protection  of  the  Egyp¬ 
tian  frontier.  Raamses  remained  unidentified  until  1906, 
when  this  ancient  site  was  recovered  by  Professor  Flinders 
Petrie  at  Tell  er-Retabeh,  “  in  the  middle  of  the  length 
of  the  Wady  Tumlat,  about  20  miles  from  Ismaliyeh  on 
the  east.”  “  We  found  here,”  says  Professor  Petrie, 
“  a  temple  of  Ramessu  II  with  sculptures  in  red  granite 
and  limestone;  part  of  the  tomb  of  an  official  who  was 
over  the  storehouse  of  Syrian  produce;  and  the  great 
works  of  Ramessu  III — all  these  discoveries  exactly  accord 
with  the  requirements  of  the  city  of  Raamses,  where  both 
7 


98 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


the  two  or  three  kings  of  that  name  are  stated  to  have 
worked  and  where  a  store  city  was  built  by  the  Israelites 
along  with  that  of  Pithom,  which  is  only  eight  miles 
distant.  The  absence  of  any  other  Egyptian  site  suitable 
to  these  conditions  which  are  all  involved  here  makes  it 
practically  certain  that  this  was  the  city  of  Raamses 
named  in  Exodus/’ 1 

This  clears  up  the  starting-point  of  the  Route  lying  ex¬ 
actly  where  it  should  be  in  the  Land  of  Goshen.  The  next 
movement  of  the  Children  of  Israel  was  from  Raamses 
to  Succoth  (Ex.  12:37),  which  is  a  Semitic  word  meaning 
“  booths,”  but  in  this  connection  it  is  more  probably  a 
Semitic  adaptation  of  an  Egyptian  word  which  has  been 
spelled  Thku(t).  One  of  the  papyri  speaks  of  “  a  royal 
fortress  (Hetem)  of  Thku  close  by  the  pools  of  Pithom.” 
There  is  frequent  mention  of  the  name  Thku  in  the  in¬ 
scriptions  found  at  the  ancient  city  of  Pithom,  and  it  has 
been  suggested  that  if  Pithom  and  Raamses  were  not 
identical,  they  were  so  close  together  as  to  form  practi¬ 
cally  one  settlement.  We  have  a  thousand  examples  of 
the  same  character  in  cities  and  towns  such  as  New  York 
and  Brooklyn,  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  and  smaller 
cities.  “  They  journeyed  from  Succoth  and  encamped  in 
Etham  in  the  edge  of  the  wilderness  ”  (Ex.  13:  20).  It  is 
almost  certain  that  at  that  time  the  whole  northeastern 
frontier  of  Egypt  was  guarded  by  a  wall  and  line  of  for¬ 
tresses  lying  east  of  the  present  Suez  Canal.  This  does 
not  mean  that  such  a  wall  was  continuous,  because  there 
could  have  been  no  object  in  carrying  it  through  the  great 
sections  of  swampy  land  which  existed  in  those  days  as 
to-day.  At  least  two  such  fortresses  guarding  two  routes 
from  the  desert  are  known  to  have  existed,  and  here, 
somewhere  before  this  wall  and  these  fortresses,  the 
Children  of  Israel  were  obliged  to  turn  back  or,  as  we  have 

1  “  Hyksos  and  Israelite  cities.”  British  School  of  Archaeology  and  Egyp¬ 
tian  Research  Account,  12th  year,  1906. 


The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai  99 

every  reason  to  believe,  southward.  There  are  two  prob¬ 
able  reasons  for  this  particular  movement.  If  the  for¬ 
tresses  were  at  that  time  defended  by  such  numbers  of 
Egyptian  troops  as  could  have  stopped  the  progress  of  the 
Children  of  Israel,  this  might  well  explain  the  change,  but 
there  is  another  reason  which  appeals  much  more  strongly 
to  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  land  and  the  difficulties, 
and  which  at  this  particular  season  (April)  would  send  the 
Children  of  Israel  by  the  southern  and  longer  road.  The 
route  directly  across  the  desert,  favored  by  the  upholders 
of  the  Sinai-Midianite  hypothesis,  is  a  possible  route  in  the 
winter  or  rainy  season,  but  in  the  spring,  summer  and 
autumn  is  physically  impossible  for  anything  but  the  swift¬ 
est  dromedaries.  This  stubborn  fact  is  matched  by  half 
a  dozen  other  routes  in  this  section  of  the  country  which  are 
available  in  the  winter  seasons  when  there  is  rain  and  a 
certain  amount  of  grass  in  the  deserts,  but  which  are  always 
abandoned  for  longer  routes  in  every  other  season  of  the 
year. 

This  change  then  led  them  immediately  into  what  is 
known  as  the  desert,  a  stretch  of  country  which  was 
desert  then  and  which  is  desert  at  this  present  hour. 

We  have  then,  in  general  outlines,  everything  required  by 
the  Bible  record,  and  the  next  great  feature  is  the  crossing 
of  the  sea.  Many  suggestions  have  been  made  as  to  the 
possible  location  which  involved  unverified  theories  con¬ 
cerning  possible  geological  and  geographical  changes  since 
the  days  of  the  Exodus.  Dismissing  all  but  the  most 
reasonable,  they  are  reduced  to  one  or  two  possibilities. 
The  so-called  Bitter  Lakes,  which  were  refilled  with  sea¬ 
water  at  the  making  of  the  Suez  Canal,  had  been  undoubt¬ 
edly  a  dry  cavity  for  many  centuries,  how  many  it  is  very 
difficult  to  say.  If  they  contained  water  at  the  time  of  the 
Exodus,  then  it  is  possible  that  the  “  crossing  of  the  sea  ” 
might  have  taken  place  at  the  southern  end  of  these  lakes, 
because  the  Biblical  conditions  of  the  winds  could  have 


IOO 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


been  applied  to  this  inland  sheet,  but  it  is  much  more 
probable  that  the  crossing  of  the  sea  took  place  somewhere 
among  the  flats  about  the  present  city  of  Suez. 

The  distance  from  Raamses  to  the  Gulf  of  Suez  is  from 
thirty  to  thirty-five  miles,  and  this  could  easily  have  been 
accomplished  in  the  time  specified  in  the  Biblical  account 
as  three  days,  though  we  must  carefully  guard  ourselves 
from  thinking  of  the  various  stages  in  Israel’s  itinerary  as 
being  each  simply  a  day’s  journey.  This  is  an  idea  that 
has  been  read  into  the  Bible  by  those  who  have  had  no 
experience  in  travelling  the  route  of  the  present  day.  The 
larger  stations  are  always  fixed  by  the  presence  of  water, 
and  the  distance  between  them  frequently  divided  into 
smaller  stages  where  a  rest  of  a  few  hours  may  be  taken 
by  a  caravan,  either  with  or  without  water.  It  is  much 
more  probable  that  the  crossing  was  concerned  with  one 
of  the  many  arms  of  the  bay,  which  reach  far  in  among 
the  sands  and  swampy  districts  of  the  region.  This  veering 
southward  toward  the  gulf  instead  of  entering  the  desert 
where  the  fortresses  stood,  or  across  the  neck  of  sand  which 
must  have  stretched  between  the  Bitter  Lakes  and  the 
gulf,  supposing  the  lakes  then  to  have  been  filled  with 
water,  is  the  only  explanation  of  the  Egyptian  theory 
that  the  Israelites  were  lost  in  that  country  or  caught 
where  there  was  no  possible  way  of  getting  out. 

It  ought  to  be  well  known  by  this  time  that  in  the 
vicinity  of  Suez  among  the  many  arms  of  the  sea  are 
extensive  shoals  which  are  bare  at  low  water  and  covered 
when  the  tide  is  in.  There  are  other  places  which  are 
covered  by  the  sea  in  winter  at  the  time  of  the  heavy 
storms,  but  also  bare  and  dry  all  through  the  long  summer. 
On  both  sides  of  the  city  of  Suez,  itself,  are  arms  of  the  sea, 
one  of  which  is  fully  two-thirds  of  a  mile  wide,  and  if 
crossed  obliquely  toward  the  desert  it  would  mean  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  three  or  four  miles  from  shore  to  shore.  This 
and  many  other  such  places  would  satisfy  all  the  condi- 


The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai  ioi 

tions  of  the  case.  The  winds  from  the  east  and  the  winds 
from  the  southeast  and  the  winds  from  the  south  from 
year  to  year  work  a  phenomenon  in  these  bays,  with  their 
various  slopes  and  inclines,  which  continue  to  surprise 
even  those  who  have  spent  all  their  years  in  this  region. 
The  miracle  for  the  Children  of  Israel  as  well  as  for  all 
believers  in  the  providential  care  of  God  was  easily  wrought 
by  natural  means  supernaturally  applied.  None  of  the 
miracles  on  this  passage  through  the  desert  were  wrought 
against  nature  or  against  reason;  their  supernatural  char¬ 
acter  consists  in  their  fitness  to  the  desperate  needs  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  as  they  journeyed. 

After  they  crossed  the  sea  the  next  striking  feature  of 
the  journey  is  the  “  three  days  into  the  desert  ”  in  and 
about  the  district  of  Suez.  There  is  no  mention  in  the 
Bible  of  the  lack  of  sweet  water,  and  the  fountains  and 
wells  within  three  or  four  miles  of  that  city  are  in  use 
till  the  present  day,  and  among  them  are  the  Springs  of 
Moses  already  referred  to.  But  beyond  the  Springs  of 
Moses  there  is  a  desert  stretch  of  three  days’  journey, 
which  is  as  marked  a  feature  to  any  one  journeying  in  that 
land  as  the  crossing  of  the  Hudson  for  any  one  moving 
westward  from  the  city  of  New  York,  or  the  crossing  of 
the  Thames  to  any  one  journeying  southward  from  the  city 
of  London. 

It  is  one  of  the  stubborn  unchangeable  natural  fea¬ 
tures  of  the  land  which  neither  imagination  nor  argu¬ 
ment  nor  theory  nor  hypothesis  can  change.  Wells  dug 
at  great  expense  in  the  desert  country  may  be  filled  with 
shifting  sands  and  lost  for  ever,  although  this  is  improb¬ 
able  because  the  memory  or  tradition  concerning  a  well, 
being  the  most  important  fact  concerning  a  waterless  dis¬ 
trict,  might  well  be  handed  down  for  hundreds  of  years, 
as  in  many  cases,  and  the  well  again  recovered.  But  real 
fountains  of  living  water  are  seldom,  if  ever,  lost  in  any 
land,  and  this  three  days’  stretch  on  this  ancient  road  was 


102 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


known  and  spoken  of  in  the  days  of  the  Exodus  exactly 
as  it  is  spoken  of  in  the  journeys  of  to-day.  The  camel, 
the  Bedawy  and  the  sand  are  exactly  the  same  as  they 
were  3200  years  ago. 

Somewhere  near  the  southern  extremity  of  this  dry 
stretch  of  three  days’  journey  was  the  little  bitter  fountain 
of  Marah,  and  the  same  little  stream  with  its  bitter  water 
still  forces  its  way  up  through  the  drifting  sands.  Just 
beyond  it  lies  Elim,  which  in  those  days  as  in  ours  marks 
the  completion  of  this  dry  and  thirsty  three  days’  stretch, 
and  is  the  first  place  where  there  was  any  sweet  water  for 
the  Children  of  Israel  after  the  passing  of  the  sea.  Even 
if  there  were  no  visible  water  and  no  wells  and  no  palm  trees 
at  this  present  time,  those  who  live  in  this  country  and  who 
journey  across  those  scorching  sands  instinctively  pitch 
their  tents  in  this  winding  valley  and  search  for  water  by 
digging  in  its  sands.  But  there  is  no  need  of  doubt  or 
uncertainty,  because  the  same  fountains  which  filled 
the  twelve  wells  for  the  Children  of  Israel  still  force  their 
way  at  many  points  through  the  same  shifting  sands,  and 
appear  as  we  saw  them,  in  pools  and  running  streams,  and 
while  the  living  palm  trees  and  other  vegetation  existing 
in  the  days  of  the  Children  of  Israel  may  have  been  wiped 
out  of  existence  a  dozen  times  by  flood  and  other  calamity, 
yet  the  seeds  and  the  roots  have  fought  a  gallant  fight 
against  all  their  natural  enemies,  and  the  vale  is  still  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  in  all  Sinai.  Why  men  and  students 
should  go  roaming  through  every  conceivable  hypothesis 
and  theory,  sitting  thousands  of  miles  away  in  space  and 
two  or  three  thousand  years  away  in  time,  in  order  to 
upset  and  overturn  this  record  of  the  Route,  when  a  single 
journey  through  that  country  with  intelligent  observation 
should  settle  the  problem  for  ever,  is  more  than  I  can  un¬ 
derstand.  The  Land  of  Goshen  is  identified,  the  sites  of 
the  two  ancient  cities,  the  starting-places,  the  stretch  of 
desert,  the  arms  of  the  sea,  the  same  sands,  the  same 


The  Route  from  Pithom  and  Raamses  to  Sinai  103 

swamps,  the  same  winds,  furnishing  every  condition 
required  for  the  narrative. 

Then  the  three  days’  stretch  through  the  wilderness  to 
the  first  stopping-place  where  sweet  water  abounded  is  as 
fixed  and  as  rigid  as  any  other  feature  of  our  earth.  And 
this  is  followed  by  features  which  are  just  as  stubborn 
and  real  as  all  that  have  preceded.  A  fairly  long  day’s 
journey  carried  the  Children  of  Israel  once  again  to  the 
seashore  and  beyond  into  the  everlasting  mountains  among 
whose  peaks  lay  Horeb  or  the  Mount  of  God,  about  which 
they  tarried  for  nearly  a  year. 

The  absence  or  presence  of  water  and  these  eight  facts — 
the  Land  of  Goshen ;  the  identification  of  the  starting-point 
at  Pithom  and  Raamses;  the  stretch  of  desert;  the  arm 
or  arms  of  the  sea  where  the  winds  still  battle  with  the 
troubled  waters;  the  waterless  stretch  of  three  days’ 
journey;  the  wells  and  palm  trees  at  what  must  be  Elim; 
another  camp  by  the  shore  of  the  sea;  and  then  the  journey 
upward  into  the  granite  mountains — are  facts  that  cannot 
be  argued  or  explained  away  or  disposed  of  by  theories, 
and  which  looked  at  fairly  must  fix  for  ever  the  absolute 
identification  of  this  first  section  of  the  Route  and  the 
traditional  location  of  Sinai  within  the  peninsula.  The 
route  fits  the  documents  as  the  key  fits  the  lock,  and  the 
documents  will  not  fit  any  other  route  that  has  ever  been 
explored  or  suggested. 

I  shall  point  out  later  the  fact  that  the  tabernacle  reared 
in  Sinai  was  constructed  of  materials  carried  from  Egypt, 
and  the  only  wood  and  the  only  skins  that  are  found  and 
used  in  the  peninsula  to  this  present  day. 


CHAPTER  IX 


FROM  ELIM  TO  MAGHAREH 

After  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  our  camp  was  awakened 
at  an  early  hour,  and  by  8  A.  m.  (February  2  2d)  we  had 
started  on  the  next  stage  of  our  journey.  We  left  the 
Vale  of  Elim  by  a  little  side  valley,  and  after  about  an 
hour  reached  one  of  those  curious  little  landmarks  of  the 
desert.  It  consists  of  a  heap  of  stones  to  which  every 
passing  Arab  adds  a  pebble,  accompanied  by  a  curse  and 
some  expression  of  contempt  or  shame.  The  name  of 
the  locality  is  Hosan  abu  Zena  (Zenneh).  The  story 
goes  that  a  certain  Abu  Zena  spurred  his  horse  to  death 
at  this  point,  and  that  this  heap  of  stones  and  dust  has 
been  raised  as  a  shame  mark  to  his  memory.  Some  of 
the  Arabs,  instead  of  throwing  stones,  stir  up  the  dust 
with  their  feet  and  cry,  “  Shame  upon  Abu  Zena!” 

Another  story,  however,  is  told,  according  to  which  it 
is  said  that  the  heap  marks  the  grave  of  a  Jew  who  was 
murdered  and  buried  there.  Some  enterprising  archae¬ 
ologist,  careless  of  the  feelings  or  superstitions  of  the 
Arabs,  may  one  of  these  days  turn  the  heap  over  and  add 
another  tradition  to  the  spot. 

In  this  same  region  our  camel  drivers  led  us  aside  with 
great  mystery  and  showed  us  a  series  of  little  holes  bur¬ 
rowed  in  the  soft  rock  forming  a  square  5X5;  holes  which, 
in  some  places,  are  also  accompanied  by  other  marks  that 
are  probably  tribe  marks.  These  little  holes  are  the 
board  on  which  the  Arabs  play  a  game  with  pebbles  called 
sigah. 

Nothing  is  too  small  to  escape  notice  in  the  desert,  and 
not  far  away  from  this  same  region  are  two  other  heaps  of 

104 


From  Elim  to  Maghareh 


io5 

stones,  each  about  3  feet  across  and  i\  feet  high  and  about 
50  feet  apart.  They  are  apparently  kept  in  their  present 
shape  by  human  hands.  Around  each  heap  is  a  little 
trench  in  the  sand,  and  another  long  trench  joining  the 
two  heaps,  making  a  combination  which  must  be  noticed 
by  every  passer-by.  Every  wind  that  sweeps  through 
the  little  valley  during  all  the  seasons  of  the  year  must 
erase  and  fill  in  this  little  trench,  but  from  year  to  year 
the  hands  of  these  passing  Arabs  renew  the  trenches,  but 
what  their  superstition  or  belief  or  purpose  may  be  no  one 
seems  to  know.  Travellers  fifty  years  ago  noticed  these 
same  heaps  and  the  long  trench.  Some  one  has  said  con¬ 
cerning  these  heaps  that  a  Bedawy  had  killed  an  enemy  at 
one  heap  and  then  ran  on  and  succeeded  in  killing  another 
man  at  the  other  heap,  but  this  is  a  rather  senseless  sort 
of  explanation.  Beyond  the  heap  of  Abu  Zena  lies  the  wild 
tableland  which  is  made  of  a  nummulitic  limestone  and  is 
called  El  Karkah. 

Beyond  this  tableland  we  descended  into  Wady  Useyt. 
Here  again  are  palm  trees  and  tamarisk,  with  sometimes 
a  little  brackish  stream.  A  branch  valley  leads  to  an  open 
plain  over  which  we  journeyed  for  fully  two  hours  with 
almost  nothing  to  break  the  monotony.  The  little  dips 
are  all  honored  with  names,  even  where  there  is  absolutely 
nothing  to  distinguish  one  valley  from  the  other.  Just 
after  leaving  Wady  Et-hal  we  passed  a  curious  wayside 
shrine  among  some  muddy  looking  hills.  A  wooden  stick 
about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  heavy  cane  has  been  driven 
into  the  loamy  soil  and  is  decorated  with  varicolored  rags, 
each  of  which  marks  the  registration  of  a  vow  by  a  passer¬ 
by.  Some  say  it  is  the  tomb  of  a  sheikh,  and  others  that 
it  marks  the  capture  of  a  husband  who  fled  away  with 
his  bride  to  avoid  some  tribal  difficulties.  It  is  called 
Oreis  et  Temmam. 

Our  road  lay  from  Wady  Shebeikeh  to  Wady  el  Homr 
and  into  the  head  of  Wady  Tayyibeh.  At  this  point  the 


io6 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


road  to  Sinai  forks,  and  those  who  wish  to  journey  via 
Sarbut  must  ascend  the  valley  to  the  left.  Our  route  lay 
down  the  Wady  Tayyibeh.  Older  travellers  mention 
several  tiny  springs  of  bad  water  and  a  few  palm  trees  at 
this  point.  At  the  present  time  as  many  as  seventy  palm 
trees  can  be  counted  with  tamarisks  and  a  considerable 
undergrowth,  so  that  it  would  seem  that  the  palm  trees  are 
on  the  increase.  Two  miles  below  this  little  patch  of  desert 
verdure  the  valley  is  all  dry  and  bare  again,  the  little  stream 
of  brackish  water  having  disappeared  completely  in  the 
gravel  beds  which  are  more  abundant  in  this  valley  than 
elsewhere.  At  several  points  in  this  well-known  valley, 
Wady  Tayyibeh,  the  cliffs  on  either  side  are  sublime 
and  the  slope  toward  the  sea  is  almost  imperceptible. 
In  some  places  the  valley  widens  out  until  it  is  500  or 
600  yards  across,  with  a  floor  smooth  as  that  of  a  race¬ 
course.  One  continually  gets  whiffs  of  sea  air  as  it  sweeps 
through  what  in  places  is  almost  a  canyon.  At  least  a 
dozen  times  we  expected  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  sea  at  a 
turn  in  the  valley,  and  at  least  a  dozen  times  our  expecta¬ 
tion  was  disappointed,  the  valley  stretching  farther  and 
farther  beyond. 

It  was  down  this  valley  that  the  Children  of  Israel 
journeyed  to  their  “  encampment  by  the  sea,”  and  it  was 
at  the  doorway  of  this  valley  finally,  at  sunset  in  a  beau¬ 
tiful  spot,  we  pitched  our  tents  for  the  night.  According 
to  the  Bible  story  it  was  along  this  shore  where  the  first 
miracle  of  the  quails  took  place  in  the  feeding  of  the 
Children  of  Israel.  The  second  took  place  exactly  a  year 
later  beyond  Sinai  (see  Chapter  XXIV).  This  event  we 
had  forgotten  at  the  moment,  but  before  we  struck  camp 
the  next  day  our  attention  was  directed  to  this  fact  by 
two  rather  interesting  occurrences.  A  little  way  above  the 
camp  in  the  valley  itself,  at  the  base  of  a  tall  cliff,  was  a 
little  brackish  pool  toward  which  we  directed  our  camels 
with  the  thought  that  perhaps  their  increasing  thirst  might 


From  Elim  to  Maghareh  107 

induce  them  to  drink.  While  examining  the  rocks  above 
the  little  pool,  with  our  camels  resting  near  by,  one  of  our 
cameleers  suddenly  ran  toward  a  slope  some  thirty  yards 
away,  and,  after  a  series  of  eccentric  dashes  to  and  fro 
which  we  were  at  a  loss  to  understand,  he  returned  with 
joy  in  his  face  and  actions,  and  revealed  to  us  the  fact  that 
he  had  succeeded  in  catching  a  live  quail. 

About  three  hours  after  midnight  our  camp  was  awak¬ 
ened  by  the  lurching  and  swaying  of  our  tents,  which  had 
been  struck  by  a  sudden  gust  of  wind.  Everybody  was 
awake,  but  before  any  precautions  could  be  taken  the  tent 
in  which  Dr.  Goucher  and  Mr.  Taylor  were  sleeping  was 
lifted  completely  into  the  air  and  dropped  back  a  shapeless 
mass  on  them  as  they  still  rested  on  their  camp  bedsteads. 
Everybody  turned  out,  and  in  the  course  of  less  than  an 
hour  everything  was  again  in  shape  with  the  loss  of  nothing 
except  a  single  towel,  which  apparently  mounted  into  the 
sky  on  a  little  whirlwind  and  sailed  away  to  parts  unknown. 
These  two  occurrences,  however,  called  our  attention  to 
the  miracle  of  the  quails,  and  at  the  very  point  where  such 
a  crossing  of  the  sea  would  naturally  take  place,  and  the 
quails,  weary  in  their  flight,  would  be  caught  by  the 
cross  breezes  drawing,  like  a  chimney  blast,  up  through 
this  winding  valley  toward  the  hot  plateaus  above. 

Quails  abound  in  Arabia,  Egypt  and  North  Africa,  and 
are  well  known  as  migratory  birds.  They  make  their 
way  northward  in  the  beginning  of  March  and  southward 
again  in  November.  They  not  only  cross  the  Arabian 
Desert  and  arms  of  the  sea,  but  also  the  Mediterranean 
itself  at  its  narrowest  parts,  as  that  between  Africa  and 
Malta,  Sicily  and  the  Greek  Islands.  They  always  fly 
at  night  and  with  the  wind,  and  their  arrival  is  heralded 
by  their  peculiar  call,  which  is  heard  early  in  the  morning 
and  at  sunset.  No  doubt  many  perish  in  this  passage  over 
the  sea  and  those  which  arrive  safe  are  always  excessively 
fatigued.  Quails  are  mentioned  twice  in  connection  with 


io8 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


the  wanderings  of  the  Children  of  Israel,  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  first  mention  of  Exodus  16:  13  occurred  exactly 
at  this  point.  The  Israelites  left  Egypt  in  April  and  it 
would  be  about  this  time  that  these  migratory  birds 
would  be  making  their  spring  crossing  into  the  peninsula. 
The  sea  wind  would  bring  them  in  enormous  numbers  to 
the  camp  of  the  Israelites.  A  year  later  Numbers  11:31 
tells  us  that  “  there  went  forth  a  wind  from  the  Lord  and 
brought  quails  from  the  sea  and  let  them  fall  over  the 
camp  about  a  day’s  journey  on  the  other  side  round  about 
the  camp  and  two  cubits  above  the  face  of  the  earth,” 
and  this  is  exactly  what  might  happen  at  this  very  point 
in  the  doorway  of  Wady  Tayyibeh,1  which  is  considerably 
more  than  a  mile  across.  The  miracle  consisted  in  their 
being  directed  at  the  right  time  and  place  to  supply  the 
great  need  of  the  Children  of  Israel.  Other  travellers 
have  marked  this  same  occurrence  in  that  region,  and  per¬ 
haps  the  only  misconception  remaining  concerning  quails 
is  one  that  has  been  read  into  the  Bible,  according  to  which 
they  lay  two  cubits  deep  above  the  face  of  the  earth,  where¬ 
as  the  simple  meaning  easily  known  from  the  habits  of  the 
birds  under  similar  circumstances  is  that  in  their  weariness 
they  were  not  able  to  rise  in  their  flight  more  than  two 
cubits  above  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  so  were  as  easily 
caught  by  the  Children  of  Israel  as  the  living  quail  was 
caught  before  our  eyes  by  the  Bedawy,  and  for  exactly  the 
same  reason. 

This  incident  of  the  wind  in  the  night  and  the  wearied 
quail  is  one  of  the  many  striking  incidents  which  come 
under  the  eye  of  the  careful  observer.  The  doorway  of 
this  Wady  Tayyibeh  is  one  through  which  the  rains  and 
floods  of  all  ages  have  poured  their  volume  of  water,  which 
has  deposited  its  burden  of  sand  and  rubbish  and  rocks 
in  the  shape  of  a  cape  or  point  extending  far  into  the  sea. 
Combined  with  the  winds  from  the  sea  which  whistle  back 
xOr  Hanak  el-Lagm,  see  Fig.  12,  facing  p.  112. 


From  Elim  to  Maghareh  109 

through  the  deeply  eroded  valley,  this  cape  forms  a  natural 
crossing  place  for  migratory  birds.  It  is  one  of  nature’s 
ferries  over  this  arm  of  the  sea,  and  the  Bible  narrative 
again  receives  confirmation  at  a  point  where  all  the  condi¬ 
tions  unite  in  providing  the  natural  theater  for  this  miracu¬ 
lous  feeding  of  the  hungry  multitude. 

Our  camp  was  pitched  in  the  doorway  of  the  valley  and 
the  seashore  seemed  a  short  distance  away,  so  we  pro¬ 
posed  to  have  a  swim  in  the  sea  before  dinner.  Starting 
across  this  apparently  insignificant  strip  of  sand  we  soon 
realized  how  deceptive  distances  can  be  in  this  desert  at¬ 
mosphere.  We  had  not  gone  far  before  we  noticed  near 
the  seashore  what  appeared  to  be  a  couple  of  gazelles. 
We  immediately  separated  and  tried  to  approach  them  by 
means  of  two  small  gullies,  in  which,  by  creeping,  we  were 
safe  from  observation.  After  we  had  gone  what  seemed 
four  times  as  far  as  was  necessary,  we  rose  up  from  the 
valleys  in  order  to  have  a  shot,  even  at  long  distance,  at 
the  gazelles,  and,  to  our  great  surprise,  they  turned  out  to 
be  camels  and  were  still  at  least  half  a  mile  away.  Having 
made  up  our  minds  to  have  a  bath  in  the  sea,  we  kept  on, 
and  found  that  what  was  apparently  a  few  hundred  yards 
of  sand,  easily  stretched  out  to  a  mile  and  a  quarter.  We 
were  well  repaid,  however,  after  the  heat  of  the  day  by  the 
privilege  of  swimming  in  this  beautiful  clear  water.  The 
only  signs  of  life  other  than  the  camels  was  a  simple  snipe¬ 
like  bird  that  played  in  the  shallow  water  on  the  sand  bars. 
It  was,  however,  so  wild  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
come  within  shooting  distance. 

It  was  while  coming  down  this  Wady  Tayyibeh,  com¬ 
pletely  cut  off  from  every  possibility  of  tidings  or  interrup¬ 
tions  from  this  modern  world  and.  living  in  the  spirit  and 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Old  Testament,  that  the  title  of 
this  book,  “  From  the  Nile  to  Nebo,”  came  into  my  mind. 

Tuesday,  February  23d,  was  among  the  most  beautiful 
days  of  our  trip.  Our  route  lay  for  fully  five  hours  along 


no 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea.  Opposite  us,  on  the  African  coast, 
was  a  lighthouse  and  behind  it  the  Plain  of  Muhair.  An 
hour  and  a  half  from  camp  we  were  opposite  the  cape  Ras 
Abu  Zenimeh,  on  which  stands  the  tomb  of  that  worthy 
saint.  Beside  it  is  a  large  well-built  caravansary  which 
was  erected  in  recent  years  by  the  Egyptian  Government. 
Abu  Zenimeh  is  most  likely  a  patron  saint  of  the  fisher¬ 
men  and  mariners,  though  the  Arabs  who  pass  on  their 
“ships  of  the  desert”  also  make  offerings  of  candles  and  rice. 

Not  far  beyond  the  tomb  the  headland,  which  bears 
the  name  of  the  saint,  pushes  down  into  the  sea  and 
leaves  no  space  for  even  a  camel  track.  A  passage  is 
found,  however,  which  climbs  up  over  a  low  foot  cliff 
some  sixty  feet  above  the  water,  while  flanking  it  on  the 
left  towers  a  glaring  white  face  of  limestone  some  six 
hundred  feet  high.  Mariners  know  these  as  the  cliffs  of  el 
Munkheiyeh,  whose  extraordinary  regularity  of  strata  of 
harder  and  softer  stone  appear  exactly  like  some  great 
ruined  building. 

While  our  caravan  was  swinging  round  the  last  shoulder 
of  the  cliff,  unwillingly  dipping  their  feet  in  the  breaking 
waves,  grumbling  at  their  drivers  and  bumping  their 
burdens  against  the  overhanging  rock,  I  caught  them  in 
the  view  (Fig.  9)  entitled  “  Afraid  of  wetting  their  feet.” 

Just  beyond  this  point  the  road  again  leaves  the  sea  and 
enters  the  wide  plain  of  el  Markha.  This  plain  has 
rightly  been  identified  as  the  Wilderness  of  Sin.  Exodus 
16:  1  places  it  between  Elim  and  Sinai,  and  17:  1  mentions 
an  encampment  at  Rephidim  between  the  Wilderness  of 
Sin  and  the  Wilderness  of  Sinai.  It  is  an  open  plain  three 
or  four  miles  wide  and  ten  miles  long,  almost  destitute  of 
any  signs  of  vegetable  life,  with  streaks  of  black  sand  and 
strewn  with  blocks  of  “  grey  granite,  feldspar,  black  quartz- 
oze  rock  and  basalt,  which  have  been  swept  down  from 
the  inland  mountains  in  the  pluvial  age.”1  We  crossedit 

1  “  P.  R.  s.  ”  p.  18. 


‘Afraid  of  Wetting  their  Feet” 

Away  from  the  Sea  into  the  Wilderness  of  Sin 


From  Elim  to  Maghareh 


hi 


diagonally  about  due  east  and  from  the  point  in  the  photo¬ 
graph  (Fig.  io)  “  Away  from  the  Sea  into  the  Wilderness  of 
Sin  ”  to  the  “  Gateway  at  Hanak  el  Lagm  ”  (Fig.  12)  is  a 
distance  of  more  than  five  miles.  The  dreary  character 
of  the  plain  can  be  guessed  from  the  photograph  (Fig.  n) 
entitled  “  Our  Caravan  crossing  the  Wilderness  of  Sin.” 
This  view  also  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  network  of  paths 
which  characterize  the  route  in  the  open  desert. 

Here  in  this  wilderness  (Exodus  16)  the  Children  of 
Israel  began  their  murmuring.  Smitten  by  hunger,  they 
longed  for  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt  and  wished  they  had 
died  there  rather  than  perish  of  hunger  in  this  wilderness. 
Then  came  that  dispensation  of  God’s  special  care  in  the 
gift  of  the  quails  and  the  gift  of  the  manna.  And  here  we 
may  as  well  face  another  of  the  minor  problems  of  the 
Exodus,  but  which  in  so  many  minds  and  discussions  has 
usurped  the  place  of  the  major  problem. 

I  am  a  firm  believer  in  Divine  Providence,  and  reject 
absolutely  the  blind  chance  theory  of  the  universe  or  that 
we  are  helpless  automata.  I  can  see  incontrovertible 
evidence  of  God’s  care  in  the  coincidences  of  these  wonder¬ 
ful  events,  with  the  desperate  needs  of  the  Children  of 
Israel.  But  while  these  facts  will  stand  as  long  as  the 
granite  cliffs  of  Sinai,  I  do  not  see  any  objection  to  modify¬ 
ing  our  childish  conception  of  them. 

There  are  three  incidents  related  as  occurring  between 
Egypt  and  the  Wilderness  of  Sin — the  sweetening  of  the 
waters,  the  gift  of  the  quails,  the  gift  of  manna,  and 
whatever  word  we  may  apply  to  them,  at  least  two  of  them 
certainly  have  their  basis  in  “  natural  ”  facts.  It  is  not 
at  all  inconceivable  that  we  may  yet  find  some  “  tree  ” 
which  cast  into  Marah’s  bitter  waters  may  make  them 
sweet.  The  “  natural  ”  element  in  connection  with  the 
quails  has  already  been  referred  to,  but  as  yet  we  have  no 
“  natural  ”  clue  to  the  manna. 

According  to  the  Bible,  “  manna  was  a  substance  which 


1 1 2 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


fell  along  with  the  dew  and  was  rained  around  the  Hebrew 
camp  during  the  forty  years  of  their  wilderness  life.  It 
was  in  flakes  or  small  round  grains  like  hoarfrost,  white  in 
appearance  like  coriander  seed  or  bdellium,  and  in  taste 
was  like  thin  flour  cakes  with  honey  or  like  fresh  oil  (Ex. 
16:14,  15:31;  Num.  11:7,  8).  It  was  gathered  every 
morning,  except  on  Sabbath,  and  a  double  portion  on 
Friday  morning.  If  kept  overnight  it  became  corrupt 
and  bred  worms,  except  on  the  Sabbath  day.  The  supply 
continued  until  they  came  to  a  land  inhabited,  to  the  bor¬ 
ders  of  Canaan  (Ex.  16:36),  or  until  they  reached  Gilgal 
in  the  plain  of  Jericho  and  ate  the  old  corn  of  the  land 
(Joshua  5:  12).  During  this  time  it  was  the  chief  part  of 
their  diet,  but  not  their  only  food  (Lev.  8:2,  26,  31,  9:4, 
10:  12;  Num.  7:  13;  Deut.  2:  6),  etc.”1 

Other  Bible  references  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
make  a  spiritual  use  of  the  manna,  and  under  them  all  is 
the  conception  which  we  call  “  miraculous.” 

Now,  there  is  a  sweet  semi-liquid  substance,  called  mann 
er-sema  (heavenly  manna),  which  exudes  in  drops  from  the 
tarfa  tree  when  it  is  punctured  by  an  insect.  This  is  still 
collected  by  the  Arabs  in  the  desert  and  sold  to  the  pil¬ 
grims.  A  second  and  a  third  sort  is  yielded  by  other 
plants  in  and  about  Arabia,  and  stories  of  manna  found  in 
open  places,  not  dropping  from  plants,  are  also  told.  But 
taking  the  Bible  literally,  none  of  these  could  be  the  manna 
of  the  Exodus,  because  they  can  keep  indefinitely  and 
could  not  be  cooked  as  the  manna  was. 

Moreover,  supposing  this  was  the  manna  that  the 
Children  of  Israel  ate,  all  the  trees  of  the  peninsula  would 
hardly  produce  a  dozen  camel  loads,  whereas  the  needs  of 
the  greatly  reduced  numbers  of  the  Israelites  preclude  the 
possibility  of  their  being  sustained  in  this  way  during  the 
forty  years.  Nor  can  it  be  supposed  that  the  vegetation  of 
those  days  greatly  exceeded  that  of  the  present,  because, 

1  “H.  D.  B.,”  p.  236. 


Our  Caravan  Crossing  the  Wilderness  of  Sin 
Gateway  from  the  Wilderness  into  the  Mountains  at  Hanak  el  Lagm 


From  Elim  to  Maghareh 


**3 

as  we  shall  see  in  another  connection  (Chapter  XXII), 
this  supposition  is  effectually  ruled  out.  And  whereas, 
before  I  visited  the  peninsula  and  other  portions  of  the 
Arabian  desert,  I  may  have  had  hazy  ideas  of  the  need 
of  some  mysterious  supply  of  daily  food,  I  am  now  clearly 
persuaded  that  the  Israelites  could  not  have  lived  a  week 
in  that  land  without  sustenance  from  above,  and  I  humbly 
bowed  my  head  a  hundred  times  to  the  Bible  statement, 
call  it  miracle,  supernatural,  co-natural,  non-natural,  that 
God  alone  could  have  sustained  them  by  other  than  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature. 

The  moment  one  enters  the  plain  of  el  Markha,  his 
attention  is  attracted  and  held  by  the  very  conspicuous 
notch  in  the  mountains  on  the  east  side  of  the  plain,  called 
Hanak  el-Lagm.  Immediately  to  the  right  and  south  of  it, 
the  steep  mountain  slope  is  marked  by  a  large  black  patch, 
which  on  examination  proves  to  be  a  great  mass  of  slag 
which  has  been  thrown  out  of  the  copper  mining  furnaces 
of  antiquity,  and  may  have  been  there  when  the  Children 
of  Israel  passed  this  way.  This  natural  gateway  intro¬ 
duces  us  to  the  mountainous  region  of  the  peninsula,  and  at 
once  suggests  the  mining  enterprises  of  the  most  remote 
past.  A  curious  fact  in  connection  with  these  slag  heaps, 
which  contain  traces  of  copper,  is  that  the  furnaces  or, 
rather,  the  remains  of  the  natural  furnaces  visible,  are  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  and  the  slag  heaps  are  found  on  the 
spurs  higher  up.  The  remains  of  the  furnaces  is  a  heap 
of  calcined  and  broken  granite  blocks,  about  15  feet  across 
and  5  feet  high,  but  more  of  this  later. 

Passing  through  the  gateway  Hanak  el-Lagm  (no  meters, 
361  feet)  we  enter  the  valley  of  Wady  Baba,  which  at  this 
point  and  for  a  couple  of  miles  is  called  Seih  Baba,  a  word 
used  to  designate  a  very  broad  section  in  contrast  to  the 
gorge  above.  The  Seih  Baba  is  really  a  great  amphitheater 
sweeping  gently  upward  to  cliff-like  masses  of  granite 
mountains,  which  apparently  bar  all  further  progress. 

8 


1 14  From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 

Up  this  magnificent  slope  we  moved,  deeply  impressed 
by  the  growing  grandeur  of  the  views  in  every  direction. 
As  we  came  nearer  to  the  rugged  and  vari-colored  cliffs 
and  mountain  masses,  two  valleys  appeared,  opening  one 
on  the  right  to  the  south  and  one  on  the  left  toward  the 
northeast.  This  latter  valley  is  the  Wady  Baba,  which 
extends  its  winding  course  upward  to  the  great  district  of 
Sarbut  el  Jemel,  where  the  famous  religious  remains  of 
the  peninsula  are  found;  while  the  valley  to  the  right  leads 
to  the  mountain  district.  Hence  this  gateway  and  mag¬ 
nificent  amphitheater  within  it,  combined  with  the  landing 
place  on  the  seashore  across  the  plain,  was  for  thousands 
of  years  the  natural  entrance  to  the  religious  and  mining 
districts  of  Sinai.  Our  road  lay  up  and  through  the  valley 
to  the  right,  which  bears  the  name  of  Wady  Shellal,  “  the 
valley  of  the  cascades  ”  or  “  waterfalls.”  Why  or  how  it 
ever  acquired  such  a  name  it  is  difficult  to  understand. 
There  certainly  are  no  waterfalls,  nor  any  traditions  of 
such,  neither  are  there  any  steep  watercourses  which  might 
justify  this  name.  There  are,  however,  traces  of  under¬ 
ground  moisture,  as  proved  by  the  existence  of  a  number  of 
fine  acacias.  It  is  not  improbable  that  shallow  wells  dug 
in  these  beds  of  sand  and  gravel  might  result  in  finding 
water.  After  about  half  an  hour’s  journey  in  the  Wady 
Shellal,  we  entered  the  still  more  impressive  gorge  of 
Wady  Buderah  and,  after  another  hour,  pitched  our  tents 
for  the  night  in  a  fine  secluded  corner  for  camping,  just 
below  the  pass  called  Nagb  el  Buderah,  or  “  the  pass  of  the 
sword’s  point.” 

This  was  another  dry  camp,  with  absolutely  no  water 
of  any  kind  for  either  man  or  beast.  Our  barometers 
registered  290  meters  at  our  tents.  The  stillness  and  ab¬ 
solute  solitude  of  this  spot,  amid  the  mountains  crumbling 
under  the  action  of  sun  and  wind  and  beautifully  colored 
by  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  represents  a  scene  in  our 
memories  that  can  never  fade.  To  cross  Nagb  el  Buderah, 


From  Elim  to  Maghareh 


US 

or  Pass,  is  a  steep  climb  zigzagging  among  massive  boulders 
of  granite  and  requiring  fully  twenty  minutes  to  surmount. 
The  present  track,  with  here  and  there  bits  of  retaining 
walls,  is  said  to  be  the  work  of  Major  MacDonald  in  1863. 
There  must  have  been  a  better  road  here  in  ancient  times, 
although  we  could  detect  no  traces  of  it.  If  the  Children 
of  Israel  passed  this  way,  rather  than  around  through 
Wady  Baba  to  Sarbut  el  Jemel,  then  this  pass  would  have 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  question  of  the  numbers  of 
the  Children  of  Israel.  A  slight  mathematical  calculation 
would  quickly  prove  that  three  millions  of  people  could 
not  have  passed  up  and  over  this  notch  within  any  reason¬ 
able  section  of  the  time  consumed  between  Egypt  and 
Sinai,  which,  according  to  the  Bible,  was  about  two  months. 
Our  barometers  at  the  top  of  the  Pass  registered  310  meters, 
but  Petrie1  makes  it  1263  feet. 

From  the  top  of  the  Pass  there  are  extensive  and  beau¬ 
tiful  views  both  backward  and  forward.  The  backward 
view  gives  a  glimpse  of  the  sea  in  the  distance,  and  beyond 
it,  northward,  of  the  Ras  Abu  Zenimeh  and  the  mountain 
of  Pharaoh’s  bath.  The  Arabs  seem  to  be  somewhat  un¬ 
certain  as  to  whether  the  Wady  el  Buderah  lies  north  or 
south  of  the  Pass,  but  beyond  the  Pass  the  shallow  valley 
contains  the  ancient  road,  which  through  the  ages  has  been 
cut  by  myriad  feet  of  man  and  beast  into  a  deeply  marked 
passage  way.  This  shallow  valley  slopes  into  the  Seih 
Sidreh,  a  beautiful  winding  valley,  which  twists  sharply 
about  between  the  granite  cliffs  hundreds  of  feet  high. 
“  At  one  point  a  dyke  of  red  porphyry  about  five  feet  thick 
has  filled  an  immense  fissure  in  the  granite  .  .  .  and 

in  another  place  the  sandstone  is  seen  bedded  against 
another  great  cliff  face  of  granite.”  After  passing  the 
valley  called  Imm  Temam,  a  short  ride  brought  us  to 
Wady  Igna,  opposite  the  mouth  of  which  is  the  tomb  of 
one  Sheikh  Suleiman;  turning  into  Wady  Igna,  another 
five  minutes  brought  us  to  the  famous  mines  of  Maghareh. 

l“P.  R.  S. p.  19. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  TURQUOISE  MINES  OF  SINAI 

The  turquoise  mines  of  Maghareh  and  Serabit  owe  their 
origin  to  primitive  man’s  love  of  precious  stones,  because 
these  mines,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  are  the  only  cause  of 
man  having  originally  visited  or  having  dwelt  in  these 
regions.  Who  first  discovered  the  existence  of  turquoise 
in  Sinai  can  never  be  known,  but  upon  that  discovery 
hangs  more  than  one  fascinating  chapter  of  human  history. 
Two  cardinal  facts  concern  us.  These  turquoise  mines 
were  worked,  according  to  the  revised  chronology,  for 
over  3500  years  before  the  Exodus,  they  were  worked 
during  the  Exodus,  they  were  worked  immediately  after 
the  Exodus  and  then  left  untouched  for  almost  another 
3000  years.  This  is  the  first  cardinal  fact.  The  second 
is  that  while  these  miners  toiled  and  searched  for  precious 
stones,  they  left  for  us  treasures  infinitely  more  valuable 
than  all  they  ever  carried  away. 

Turquoise,  in  plain  language,  is  an  opaque  blue  or 
greenish-blue  precious  stone;  defined  scientifically  it  is 
“  a  hydrous  phosphate  of  alumina  stained  with  phosphate 
of  iron  (blue)  and  copper  (green)  in  mixed  proportions, 
and  it  was  probably  derived  from  the  phosphorus  of  the 
same  organism  that  caused  the  deposit  of  the  iron  stratum,” 
underneath  which  it  is  usually  found  in  the  mines  of  Sinai. 
The  true  Oriental  turquoise,  a  favorite  ornamental  stone 
in  rings  and  other  articles  of  jewelry,  at  present  found 
largely  in  mountain  regions  in  Persia,  was  originally 
brought  into  Western  Europe  by  way  of  Turkey,  hence 
its  name  turquoise,  by  wrhich  we  know  it.  The  word 


The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai  117 

“  turquoise  ”  is  a  corruption  of  “  Turkish,”  because  com¬ 
ing  by  way  of  Turkey  it  was  originally  called  a  Turkish 
stone,  or  because  Turkish  at  that  time  signified,  in  a 
general  way,  Asiatic. 

Another  variety  of  turquoise  is  found  in  Mexico,  where 
it  is  usually  of  a  greenish-blue  color,  and,  like  the  turquoise 
of  Sinai,  it  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Indians  who 
mined  it  in  the  earliest  times.  It  is  only  in  recent  years  that 
its  old  Egyptian  name  Mafkat  has  been  recovered,  and  with 
the  recovery  of  its  ancient  name  has  come  another  chapter 
of  interesting  ancient  history.  The  Mafkat  from  Sinai 
appears  in  the  form  of  beads  in  some  Egyptian  tombs  of 
the  predynastic  age,  and  the  supposition  is  that  it  was  ob¬ 
tained  from  Syrian  and  Bedawin  miners  before  the  Egyp¬ 
tian  Government  sent  convict  slave  gangs  to  this  deadly 
oven  of  Sinai.  It  was  freely  used  at  the  beginning  of  the 
I  Dynasty,  and  is  found  in  all  the  four  bracelets  from  the 
tomb  of  King  Zer.  There  is  an  ancient  story  of  an  Egyp¬ 
tian  named  Sneferu  and  a  magician  Zezemankh,  in  which 
a  precious  jewel  was  lost.  This  jewel  was  Mafkat ,  and 
we  know  that  Mafkat  was  turquoise. 

There  are  eight  places  in  the  ancient  mountain,  all 
within  a  circle  of  thirty  miles,  where  the  miners  searched 
for  this  precious  stone.  The  two  most  important,  and 
which  are  destined  to  become  more  famous  than  ever 
because  connected  with  the  Bible,  are  at  Maghareh  and 
Serabit,  about  twelve  miles  apart  by  air  line,  but  two  days 
by  camel  track.  The  mines  at  Maghareh  are  several 
centuries  older  than  those  at  Serabit,  and  have  given  us 
one  of  the  most  important  series  of  Egyptian  inscriptions 
that  are  known,  while  the  mines  at  Serabit,  in  addition  to  a 
wealth  of  inscriptions  concerning  the  mining  expeditions 
of  the  Egyptians,  have  given  us  a  new  Semitic  ritual 
earlier  than  any  yet  known  in  Syria  and  Arabia,  and  a 
written  language  peculiar  to  this  region  some  centuries 
earlier  than  the  Exodus.  For  the  sake  of  convenience  I 


n8  From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 

shall  discuss  a  number  of  important  matters  in  connection 
with  the  Mines  at  Maghareh,  and  leave  the  fascinating 
religious  and  linguistic  items  to  a  separate  chapter  on 
Serabit. 

Wady  Maghareh,  the  “  valley  of  the  caves,”  is  named 
from  the  many  ancient  cave-like  mines  which  occupy  one 
of  its  sides.  The  valley  is  almost  completely  surrounded 
by  the  rugged  mountains  of  granite.  The  floor  of  the 
valley  is  about  1000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
slopes  generally  northward  to  the  base  of  the  great  peak 
Tartir  ed  Dhami,  which  rises  sheer  for  2000  feet  (Fig.  13), 
the  highest  peak  of  which  is  3531  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
second  view  of  the  valley  (Fig.  14)  gives  a  glimpse  of  the 
mountain  view  eastward.  The  whole  valley  is  destitute 
of  vegetation  except  a  few  straggling  side  trees  which  are 
visible  in  the  pictures.  It  is  from  every  direction  a  scene 
of  impressive,  awful  desolation,  which  in  the  heat  of  sum¬ 
mer  becomes  a  granite  cauldron  without  a  drop  of  water 
or  a  suggestion  of  moisture.  The  trained  imagination  of 
the  geologist  pictures  the  remote  past  when  there  were 
thousands  of  feet  more  of  granite  covering  what  is  now 
“  a  rugged  row  of  broken  buttresses,”  which  are  what  we 
know  as  the  sublime  peaks  of  modern  Sinai.  The  next 
step  in  the  history  of  the  region  was  when  it  sank  below 
the  waves  of  the  sea,  and  hundreds  of  feet  of  sandstone 
were  deposited  above  the  granite;  traces  of  this  are  still 
found  on  the  tops  of  granite  peaks.  A  unique  specimen 
of  these  is  visible  in  the  upper  photo  in  the  shape  of  a 
small  cone,  which  gives  its  name  Tartir,  “  a  conical  cap,” 
to  the  mountain.  Then  came  the  great  uplift  of  the 
central  table  of  granite,  cracking  and  splitting  the  sand¬ 
stone  stratum,  followed  by  ages  of  denudation  by  sun, 
wind  and  water,  which  partially  filled  the  bed  of  the  sea 
on  either  side  of  the  peninsula,  and  poured  its  mass  of 
many  colored  sands  into  the  rifts  and  bays  of  what  is  now 
the  Jordan  Valley,  where,  at  another  point  on  the  route 


Maghareh — et  Tartir  ed  Dhami — a  striking  peak  north  of  the  mines 
Maghareh — Mountain  view  eastward 


The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai  119 

of  the  Exodus,  we  find  the  brilliant  rainbow  hues  of  the 
rocks  in  Petra. 

Among  the  granite  peaks  of  Sinai  are  still  found  pockets 
of  this  ancient  sandstone,  which  were  left  like  standing 
pools  of  water  among  the  rugged  valleys  of  the  granite. 
The  sandstone  rocks  of  Maghareh  are  one  of  these  ancient 
remains  lying  between  granite  ranges  on  the  north  and  on 
the  south.  The  extreme  width  is  little  more  than  three 
miles  and  the  length  perhaps  not  more  than  six.  Judged 
by  some  indications  at  Serabit  it  has  been  conjectured 
that  the  depth  of  the  sandstone  below  the  valley  floor  is 
perhaps  800  feet.  The  thickness  of  the  sandstone  above 
is  easily  measured.  At  a  level  of  170  feet  above  the  floor 
of  the  valley,  that  is,  1170  feet  above  sea-level,  there  is  a 
thin  ferruginous  stratum,  and  above  this  another  stratum 
of  brighter  colored  sandstone  430  feet  thick,  making  500 
feet  of  sandstone  visible,  and  if  the  800  feet  assumed  thick¬ 
ness  below  is  correct,  then  the  sandstone  at  Maghareh 
is  a  layer  1300  feet  thick.  Now  the  turquoise  is  found  just 
below  the  ferruginous  stratum  referred  to,  which  sepa¬ 
rates  this  upper  from  the  lower  sandstone  stratum.  All 
the  mines  are  found  at  this  elevation  of  about  170  feet 
above  the  floor  of  the  valley,  and  the  burrowings  which 
follow  this  turquoise-bearing  stratum  assume  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  caves  which,  in  these  modern  times,  have  given 
their  name  to  the  valley.  A  glance  at  the  views  in  Figures 
15  and  16  will  make  this  perfectly  clear.  In  the  upper  view 
are  the  remains  of  two  ancient  mines  on  the  opposite  sides 
of  the  shoulder  of  the  mountain.  The  lower  view  is  also 
an  ancient  mine,  but  one  in  which  the  Bedawin  still  search 
and  dig  and  even  blast  in  search  of  bits  of  turquoise. 
These  Bedawin  follow  and  search  the  purple  brown  bands 
of  the  sandstone,  since  experience  has  shown  them  to  be  the 
most  profitable.  At  Serabit  the  methods  of  mining  were 
practically  the  same  as  at  Maghareh,  but  with  some  varia¬ 
tions,  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  this  thin  ferruginous 


120 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


stratum  which  at  Maghareh  is  1170  feet  above  the  sea,  is 
at  Serabit  1500  feet  higher,  and  instead  of  lying  between  a 
higher  and  lower  mass  of  sandstone  at  Serabit,  this  stratum 
is  practically  on  the  top  of  the  hills,  and  the  mining  is 
carried  on  by  means  of  perpendicular  shafts  as  well  as 
horizontal.  One  of  the  Serabit  mines  is  a  tunnel  through 
the  cliffs  220  feet  long  with  air-shafts  10  feet  square  to  the 
top  of  the  cliff.  Other  tunnels  inside  the  face  of  the  cliffs 
possess  openings  for  air  and  light.  Because  the  ferruginous 
stratum  referred  to  is  everywhere  a  thin  one,  these  galleries 
are  rarely  as  much  as  6  feet  in  height.  One  of  the  larger 
mines  is  a  pit-like  opening  50  feet  across,  extending  into 
narrow  galleries  on  all  sides.  In  the  vicinity  there  is  abun¬ 
dant  evidence  on  all  the  hill-tops,  showing  how  the  ancient 
Egyptians  had  worked  in  many  places  searching  for  the 
turquoise-bearing  stratum. 

The  Bedawin  in  their  search  for  the  turquoise  strive  to 
reduce  by  blasting  and  pounding  this  ferruginous  stratum 
to  powder.  When  this  is  accomplished  more  or  less  suc¬ 
cessfully,  they  search  for  the  little  hard  nodules  smaller 
than  a  pigeon’s  egg,  and  these,  in  turn,  are  rubbed  down 
and  reduced  to  powder  in  order  to  find  out  whether  they 
have  a  turquoise  center.  Sometimes  the  veins  in  which 
the  turquoise  are  found  occupy  cracks  or  small  pockets  in 
the  rock,  and  it  is  in  hopes  of  striking  such  pockets  and 
cracks  they  spend  their  days  in  crushing  and  pouring  out 
the  broken  sandstone,  which  appears  as  a  waterfall  out¬ 
side  the  cave  in  the  lower  picture.  There  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  this  was  practically  the  method  of  the  ancient 
Egyptian  miners,  that  is,  the  crushing  of  the  turquoise¬ 
bearing  sandstone,  but  the  ancient  Egyptian  miners  took 
no  such  risks  as  the  Bedawin  of  to-day  do  when  they 
destroy  every  means  of  support  for  the  superimposed  mass 
above  the  present  cave-like  openings. 

Many  readers  at  this  point  will  be  asking  the  question 
concerning  the  tools  used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians.  There 


Maghareh — Ancient  Turquoise  Mines 
Maghareh — One  of  the  Mines  recently  worked 


The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai  121 

are  a  thousand  marks  in  the  galleries  and  mines  which 
prove  without  a  peradventure  that  they  made  use  of  metal 
tools  and  metal  cutting  instruments,  which  from  their 
size  and  shape  correspond  very  closely  with  the  tools  for 
similar  purposes  used  in  this  land  to-day.  In  the  temple 
at  Serabit  two  copper  chisels  have  been  found  among  the 
ashes  and  dust  of  a  chamber  which  had  apparently  been 
used  as  a  workshop.  They  are  6\  and  7  inches  long,  and 
are  probably  of  the  same  general  shape  and  weight  as 
many  of  those  that  were  used  in  the  mining.  A  photo  of 
these  chisels,  together  with  a  crucible  for  smelting  copper, 
will  be  found  in  Petrie’s  “  Researches  in  Sinai,”  p.  162. 
There  is  also  evidence  which  justifies  us  in  believing  that 
they  also  made  use  of  a  sort  of  core  drill,  “  in  which  a 
chisel  cut  ran  round  in  a  circle  three  or  four  inches  across, 
and  this  suggests  that  the  workmen  were  familiar  with 
what  we  know  as  tube  drills.”  And  this  leads  us  to 
another  topic  already  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  Chro¬ 
nology  (see  p.  75),  which  is  this,  the  use  of  flint  along  with 
instruments  made  of  copper  or  of  iron.  There  is  abundant 
evidence  in  every  dump  heap  that  the  miners  made  ex¬ 
tensive  use  of  these  ancient  flint  tools.  A  great  number 
of  these  were  gathered  by  Professor  Petrie,  and  we,  in  the 
short  space  of  time  spent  at  the  mines,  succeeded  in  finding 
a  number  of  excellent  specimens.  Professor  Petrie  gives 
photographs  of  small  flint  cutting  instruments  which  he 
labels  as  stone  vase  grinders,  which  from  their  shape  and 
size  might  easily  be  the  tool  referred  to  as  a  core  drill. 
Other  flint  tools,  from  the  smallest,  finest  cutting  edges, 
through  every  type  of  pick,  hatchet  and  hammer,  have 
been  found.1  These  heavier  hammer  stones  would  be 
excellent  tools  for  the  crushing  into  powder  of  this  more 
or  less  friable  sandstone,  and  this  discovery  of  flint  tools 
opens  up  another  fascinating  chapter  in  connection  with 
the  flint  tools  of  Egypt. 

X“P.  R.  S.,”  p.  48. 


122 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


A  few  years  ago  nothing  was  known  of  prehistoric 
Egypt  beyond  a  few  flint  flakes  upon  the  desert  plateau. 
In  1895  nothing  of  real  value  was  known,  but  in  1910 
Egyptian  prehistoric  antiquities  are  almost  as  well  known 
and  as  well  represented  in  our  museums  as  are  the  pre¬ 
historic  antiquities  of  Europe  and  America.  It  comes, 
therefore,  as  another  surprise  to  find  that  the  art  of  flint 
knapping  reached  its  zenith  in  ancient  Egypt;  the  best 
flint  knives,  dating  from  before  the  time  of  the  I  Dynasty, 
are,  without  exception,  the  most  remarkable  stone  weapons 
ever  made  in  the  world.  There  is  one  specimen1  which 
has  a  handle  covered  with  gold  on  which  have  been  carved 
designs  representing  various  animals,  and  we  saw  with 
the  dealers  in  antiquities  in  Cairo  more  beautiful  speci¬ 
mens  of  flint  knives  than  the  average  reader  can  have 
any  conception  of.  The  use  of  these  flint  knives  has  a 
remarkable  Bible  reference  in  Exodus  4:  25,  and  Herodo¬ 
tus  records  the  fact  that  an  Ethiopian  stone,  which  was 
no  doubt  a  knife  of  flint  or  chert,  was  used  in  the  sacred 
rite  of  embalming  to  make  the  first  incision  in  the  dead 
body.  There  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  flint 
tools  and  weapons  were  used  from  the  I  to  the  XII  Dynas¬ 
ties.  As  far  as  can  be  ascertained  at  this  time,  the  use  of 
stone  for  tools  or  weapons  ceased  except  in  the  act  of  em¬ 
balming,  as  above  referred  to.  Those  who  have  studied 
these  flint  weapons  agree  that  the  finest  specimens  lie 
farthest  back  in  time,  and  that  the  axe-heads  and  hammer¬ 
heads  of  the  XI  and  XII  Dynasties  are  in  form  imitations 
of  the  copper  and  bronze  axe-heads  in  use  at  that  time; 
in  other  words,  they  are  stone  imitations  of  metal,  whereas 
the  original  metal  instruments  were  actually  modelled  after 
the  fashion  of  the  stone. 

While  the  old  Egyptian  mining  expeditions  began  before 
the  Exodus  and  continued  during  the  Exodus,  they  came 
to  an  end  about  the  time  of  the  XII  Dynasty,  and  this 

1  “  E.  and  W.  A.,”  p.  15. 


The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai 


123 


means  more  than  3000  years  ago.  Nevertheless,  these 
recent  researches  in  Sinai  have  brought  to  light  a  series  of 
inscriptions  connected  with  the  worship  and  Semitic  ritual, 
to  be  dealt  with  later,  which  give  us  a  marvelously  com¬ 
plete  picture  of  what  these  ancient  mining  expeditions 
were.  Petrie  has  gathered  from  the  sandstone  steles 
about  Serabit  the  records  of  at  least  fifteen  different  ex¬ 
peditions,  and  these  may  give  many  clues  to  the  personnel 
and  organization  of  these  ancient  mining  projects.  Refer¬ 
ence  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  these  ancient 
miners  were  largely  composed  of  convicts  who  toiled  in 
these  hot  valleys  of  Sinai  under  the  lash.  As  a  rule  the 
expeditions  left  Egypt  in  November  or  December,  and 
returned  before  the  hottest  weather  came  on.  There  is  a 
record  of  one  expedition  which  mentions  the  presence  of 
734  soldiers,  who  could  easily  have  guarded  three  times 
that  number  of  convicts. 

Among  the  interesting  facts  concerning  these  expeditions 
are  the  following:  Mention  is  made  of  a  commander,  a 
seal  bearer,  a  chief  of  transport,  a  husband  of  the  treasury 
(compare  ship’s  husband),  an  elder  of  the  treasury,  scribes, 
guards  of  the  storehouses,  chief  of  the  boats,  now  and 
then  “  a  general,”  and  in  larger  expeditions  a  “  controller.” 
Once  there  is  mention  of  a  chief  physician  having  been 
taken  along.  Not  all  of  these,  of  course,  accompanied 
any  one  expedition,  and  the  most  complete  period  of 
records  belongs  to  the  XII  Dynasty1  (3459-3250  B.  C. 
1788-1579).  In  the  days  of  the  V  Dynasty  three  “  in¬ 
terpreters  for  the  Prince,”  show  that  the  Egyptian 
language  was  not  understood  by  the  Retennu  or  Aamu, 
nor  was  the  Semitic  language  known  by  the  upper  class  of 

1  The  reader  is  reminded  again  at  this  point  of  the  revision  of  Egyptian 
chronology  proposed  by  Petrie  on  the  basis  of  the  extra  Sothis  period  (see 
“  P.  R.  S.,”  p.  165).  According  to  this  revision  ordinary  Egyptian  dates 
beyond  the  18th  dynasty  must  be  increased  on  an  average  of  1600  years, 
and  in  order  to  keep  this  clearly  before  our  minds  at  this  point,  I  shall 
insert  the  double  date  on  either  side  of  the  symbols  B.  C. 


124 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Egyptians.  During  the  XII  Dynasty  there  were  added  in¬ 
spectors,  and  as  many  as  fifteen  accompanied  one  expedi¬ 
tion.  They  certainly  employed  Syrians  among  their 
extra  workmen.  In  a  long  list  of  ioo  foremen  of  miners, 
every  tenth  man  was  a  chief  foreman,  a  mer  sa.  Then 
there  were  “  devisers  of  minerals  ”  or  prospectors,  two  of 
which  were  attached  to  expeditions  which  contained  300 
and  450  men  respectively.  From  other  records  in  Egypt 
we  learn  that  in  the  enormous  expedition  of  Ramessu  IV 
to  Hammamat  as  many  as  130  inspectors  had  charge  of 
over  8000  men.  There  was  also  an  official  who  gathered 
and  guarded  the  turquoise  wrhen  it  was  mined,  and  a 
sculptor,  required,  no  doubt,  to  make  use  of  his  skill  on  the 
temple  and  the  steles.  His  main  function  may  have  been 
to  draw  the  figures  on  the  walls,  which  another  kind  of 
sculptor  or  carver  was  employed  to  complete.  In  one  of 
the  temple  rooms  there  still  exists  the  drawing  in  red 
paint  or  chalk  which  had  never  been  completed  by  the 
carver.  Common  laborers  are  recorded  in  different  ex¬ 
peditions,  45  and  200  and  255  at  different  times.  Forty- 
three  peasants  are  named  as  having  had  charge  of  500 
asses.  Apparently  they  dealt  with  the  Bedawin  (Retennu) 
through  sheikhs,  who  were  employed  to  keep  them  in  order, 
which  is  exactly  the  method  employed  at  this  present  day. 
The  numbers  of  Aamu  (Syrians)  are  also  mentioned  in 
various  years,  who  also  were  dealt  with  through  an  over¬ 
seer. 

Present  conditions,  which  certainly  have  not  changed 
during  these  past  500  years,  easily  enable  us  to  calculate 
the  large  number  of  men  and  animals  which  must  have 
been  employed  in  supplying  these  expeditions  with  food 
and  water  and  other  necessary  articles  from  the  coast,  it 
being  certain  that  Egyptian  boats  plied  back  and  forth 
between  the  port  of  Suez  and  the  Plain  of  el  Markha,  and 
the  distance  between  the  sea  and  the  mines  was  covered 
by  the  use  of  men  and  animals.  Petrie  has  estimated  that 


The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai 


I25 


for  every  500  men  employed  in  the  mining  process,  at  least 
500  asses  would  be  necessary,  250  to  bring  the  food  supply 
from  the  sea,  another  200  for  bringing  water  and  at  least 
50  to  provide  a  margin  for  delay  and  sickness.  The 
preparation  of  the  record  of  these  expeditions,  each  on  a 
great  stele  of  sandstone,  must  have  involved  great  labor 
and  special  care.  The  existing  steles  surely  entailed  several 
weeks  of  labor.  The  chief  of  the  party  was  ordinarily  the 
main  person  mentioned,  but  in  most  cases  the  whole  staff 
are  entered  in  their  order  of  superiority.  It  is  possible 
that  these  great  records,  still  standing  almost  unchanged 
after  5000  years,  were  erected  after  a  high  official  had  left; 
then  came  the  lower  workmen,  the  Syrian  miners,  strangers 
who  scribbled  in  their  names  on  the  blank  ends  and  the 
margins,  and  thereby  hangs  another  tale. 

By  far  the  most  important  objects  for  us  at  Maghareh  are 
the  sculptures1  on  the  rocks  above  the  mines.  At  Serabit 
all  the  inscriptions  and  steles  are  connected  with  the  temple 
and  shrine  of  Hat-hor,  “  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise.’’  At 
Maghareh,  however,  for  reasons  imperfectly  understood, 
there  was  a  careful  cutting  and  dating  of  tablets  on  the 
rocks  at  the  mines  themselves,  which  define  for  us  the 
history  of  the  mining  and  cast  most  interesting  side  lights 
on  a  dozen  other  lines  of  research. 

The  earliest  signs  in  Egypt  of  intercourse  between  that 
country  and  Sinai  are  the  turquoise  beads  found  in  some 
prehistoric  graves  and  in  great  abundance  about  the  time 
of  the  I  Dynasty.  The  earliest  trace  of  Egypt  in  Sinai  is  a 
rock  sculpture  (Fig.  17),  on  the  natural  face  of  the  smooth 
upper  sandstone,  of  an  Egyptian  king  smiting  a  chief  of 
the  Bedawin.  This  king,  pictured  three  times  over,  has 
easily  been  identified  as  Semerkhet,  the  seventh  king  of  the 
I  Dynasty,  and  his  date  about  5300  B.  C.  3200.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable  facts  noted  in  connection  with  this 
rock  sculpture  is  that  it  does  not  show  the  least  weathering, 

1  “  P.  R.  S.,”  pp.  40-45. 


126 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


“  the  original  face  does  not  seem  to  have  lost  even  a  single 
coat  of  sand  grains.”  The  bearing  of  this  fact  upon  the 
matter  of  the  rainfall  will  be  referred  to  many  times. 

The  next  monument  in  point  of  age  is  the  carved  face 
and  inscription  of  Sa-nekht,  the  founder  of  the  III  Dynasty, 
about  4950  B.  C.  2980,  which  furnishes  an  Ethiopian 
type  and  suggests  new  problems  concerning  the  origin  of 
that  dynasty.  Then  follow  carvings  and  inscriptions  of 
the  III,  V  and  XII  Dynasties,  all  of  which  give  more  or 
less  information  which  has  been  carefully  gathered. 

Here  should  have  followed  an  account  of  some  twenty  or 
thirty  other  sculptures  and  inscriptions,  but  instead  we  can 
record  only  two  melancholy  stories.  Twice  at  least  in 
modern  times  have  these  turquoise  mines  been  exploited 
by  foreigners,  not  to  mention  the  continued  efforts  of  the 
Bedawin,  who  still  dig,  and  blast,  and  search  in  a  primitive 
way  for  bits  of  green  stone  which  they  offer  for  sale  in 
Suez  and  Cairo.  About  1845  a  Scotchman,  named  Major 
Macdonald,  visited  these  ancient  mines,  and,  inspired 
by  the  best  traditions  of  his  craft,  returned  with  his  wife 
in  1854  and  settled  down  to  search  for  turquoise.  For 
fully  twelve  years  he  persevered  in  his  lonely  task,  and  went 
sadly  away.  Again  he  returned  and  lived  a  year  at  Serabit, 
and  again  he  retreated  in  defeat  to  Cairo,  where  he  died  in 
1870,  a  ruined  and  disappointed  man.  But  he  has  left 
for  himself  a  worthy  monument  in  a  great  collection  of 
squeezes  at  the  British  Museum,  which  reveal  to  investiga¬ 
tors  the  many  inscriptions  existing  at  Maghareh  in  his  day. 
Palmer  visited  him  in  1869,  and  gives  an  account  of  his 
home  and  hopes  at  that  time.  The  remains  of  Major  Mac¬ 
donald’s  house  still  exist,  the  pathetic  memorial  of  a  disap¬ 
pointed  hope. 

Somewhere  about  1900  another  mining  company  was 
formed,  with  English  shareholders,  and  entered  the  valley 
to  wrest  from  grim  nature  further  treasures  of  turquoise. 
I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  one  who  had  personal  knowl- 


The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai  127 

edge  of  this  venture,  but  “  everything  gave  way  to  the  greed 
for  dividends,  with  the  result  that  the  promoters  lost  their 
money,  the  natives  lost  their  turquoises  and  the  world  lost 
many  of  its  most  ancient  monuments.”  Ignorant  engineers 
and  malicious  workmen  smashed,  defaced,  destroyed  what 
was  “  in  the  European  market  of  museums  worth  more 
than  all  the  turquoises  they  extricated.”  To  read  the 
list  of  what  has  gone  forever,  as  made  from  the  squeezes  of 
Major  Macdonald  and  gathered  from  the  writings  of  other 
explorers,  is  to  increase  our  respect  for  the  Goths,  who 
protected  and  preserved  the  monuments  of  Rome,  as 
compared  with  the  wanton  mischief  of  these  dividend¬ 
hunting  mining  concerns. 

Since  the  breaking  of  this  mining  bubble,  the  Minister 
of  Public  Works  in  Cairo  employed  Mr.  C.  T.  Currelly 
to  visit  Maghareh  with  workmen  and  tools,  and  with 
great  difficulty  and  expense  he  succeeded  in  getting  down 
the  different  inscriptions  from  the  faces  of  the  cliffs  and 
transported  them  to  Cairo.  This  removes  them  forever 
from  the  possibility  of  further  danger  from  ignorant 
Bedawin  and  rascally  mining  companies,  and  has  placed 
them  where  thousands  of  scholars  and  travellers  may 
gaze  upon  these  oldest  rock  sculptures  of  the  Egyptians  in 
Sinai. 

And,  finally,  the  reader  may  ask,  What  is  the  special 
connection  between  the  Exodus  and  the  Mines  of  Magha¬ 
reh? 

(1)  The  objection  that  the  Children  of  Israel  could  not 
have  gone  via  Sinai  because  of  soldiers  and  mining  expedi¬ 
tions  falls  completely  to  the  ground.  The  Children  of 
Israel  lived  near  the  highroad  from  Egypt  to  the  mines, 
and  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  country  knew  when 
an  expedition  was  at  Maghareh  and  when  there  was  none. 
Certainly  Moses,  who  had  lived  in  Pharaoh’s  household 
forty  years,  would  be  thoroughly  conversant  with  such 
matters. 


128 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


(2)  One  recorded  expedition  in  connection  with  a  certain 
mine  at  Serabit  took  place  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  XVIII 
Dynasty  (1580-1322),  say,  about  1450-1460  B.  C.,  and  this 
brings  it  within  fifteen  or  twenty  years  of  the  Exodus 
(1477-1447  B.  C.).  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  ex¬ 
peditions  were  yearly  affairs,  but  plenty  of  evidence  that 
periods  of  ten  to  a  hundred  years  elapsed  when  no  expedi¬ 
tion  seems  to  have  gone  at  all. 

(3)  The  latest  steles  are  two  that  stand  in  connection 
with  the  temple,  and,  according  to  our  date,  they  were 
erected  150  to  200  years  after  the  Exodus  took  place,  that 
of  Ramessu  II,  whose  date  is  1300-1234  B.  C.,  and  of 
Set-nekht,  about  1203  B.  C. 

(4)  The  Itinerary  in  Numbers  33  has  every  appearance 
of  being  taken  from  a  regular  pilgrim  book  of  some  kind. 
Granting  that  Sinai  is  the  traditional  location  and  that 
Rephidim  is  Feiran,  then  we  must  locate  Dophkah  some¬ 
where  in  the  vicinity  of  Maghareh,  and  here  comes  a  little 
stroke  of  scientific  imagination  that  I  accept  as  heartily 
as  other  men  have  accepted  brilliant  guesses  in  astronomy 
which  were  afterward  proved  mathematically.  I  think 
this  particular  guess  is  a  fine  instance  of  picking  up  an 
ancient  name.  It  can  easily  be  understood  that  the  name 
Wady  Maghareh,  “  the  valley  of  the  caves,”  which  is  pure 
Arabic,  has  been  given  by  those  who  saw  the  openings  only 
and  who  possessed  no  due  to  what  had  been  taken  from 
them.  When  some  forty  years  ago  the  ancient  Egyptian 
name  for  turquoise  was  discovered  to  be  mafkat,  or  maph- 
kah,  as  it  might  easily  be  written,  Ebers  at  once  made  the 
suggestion,  which  was  afterward  reached  independently 
by  J.  Rendel  Harris,  that  perhaps  the  Bible  name  and  sta¬ 
tion  of  Israel’s  itineracy  (Numbers  33:  13),  Dophkah,  was 
a  corruption  of  Mafkat  or  Maphkah  by  the  erroneous 
transcription  of  a  single  letter,  an  M  for  a  D.  Those  who 
know  anything  about  the  science  of  ancient  Hebrew  manu¬ 
scripts  will  not  tarry  long  at  this  emendation.  That  such  a 


The  Turquoise  Mines  of  Sinai  129 

well-known  locality  as  these  turquoise  mines,  which  had 
been  worked  for  thousands  of  years  before  the  Exodus,  was 
without  its  well-known  name  is  inconceivable.  What  is 
more  natural  than  that  it  should  have  been  called  Maph- 
kah  (Turquoise),  since  it  had  absolutely  no  other  claim  to 
human  notice  than  its  precious  greenish-blue  stone.1 

(5)  I  repeat  that  the  stations  of  the  whole  itinerary  of 
the  Children  of  Israel  was  fixed  by  the  existence  of  water, 
and  there  was  water  in  those  days  at  Dophkah.  All 
modern  expeditions  to  Maghareh  drink  from  an  ancient 
Egyptian  well  in  the  valley  about  two  miles  from  the 
mines,  to  which  a  well-beaten  path  is  visible  at  all  times. 
This  well  or  pit  was  sunk  with  great  labor  in  the  granite 
rock,  and  undoubtedly  is  the  work  of  the  early  Egyptian 
miners.  Therefore  it  was  in  existence  when  the  Children 
of  Israel  made  Dophkah  a  stopping-place  more  than  a 
a  thousand  years  later. 

1  Compare  Leadville,  Silverton,  Iron  City,  etc. 


9 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  BETHEL  STONES,  THE  CAVE  SHRINE  AND  THE 

TEMPLE  OF  SERABIT 

As  one  approaches  the  heights  of  Serabit  through  any  of 
the  rugged  valleys  leading  upward,  his  attention  is  at  once 
fixed  by  the  numberless  upright  pillars  of  sandstone  cover¬ 
ing  the  hills  in  every  direction,  and  increasing  in  numbers 
about  what  is  known  as  the  Cave  Shrine  and  Temple  of 
Serabit.  These  upright  stones,  which  resemble  in  general 
appearance  gravestones,  are  from  5  to  12  feet  in  height 
and  are  found  to  be  covered  on  one  or  both  sides  with 
Egyptian  inscriptions.  A  careful  examination  of  their 
surroundings  reveals  a  number  of  other  interesting  features. 
There  are  sections  of  the  hill-tops  where  hundreds  of 
smaller  stones,  from  a  few  inches  to  two  or  three  feet,  are 
set  up  in  the  same  way,  revealing  the  action  of  human 
hands.  They  instantly  suggest  to  the  scholarly  explorer 
the  well-known  system  of  sacred  stones  in  Syria  and 
Palestine,  which  have  been  set  upright  in  adoration  or  in 
token  of  a  pilgrimage.  Absolutely  unknown  in  Egypt, 
well  known  in  Syria  and  countries  farther  east,  this  fact 
at  once  settles  their  Semitic  origin.  They  have  been 
aptly  called  Bethel  stones,  from  Genesis  28:  10-22,  when 
Jacob  “  went  out  from  Beer-sheba,  .  .  .  lighted 

upon  a  certain  place,  and  tarried  there  all  night,  .  .  . 

and  he  took  one  of  the  stones  of  the  place,  and  put  it  under 
his  head  and  dreamed,  .  .  .  and  Jacob  awaked  out 

of  his  sleep,  and  he  said,  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place, 
and  I  knew  it  not.  And  he  was  afraid,  and  said,  How 
dreadful  is  this  place,  this  is  none  other  than  the  house  of 

130 


The  oldest  Monument  in  Sinai — Scene  of  Semerkhet  smiting  the  Bedawy  Chief,  I  Dynasty 

(Petrie,  5300  B.  C.) 

From  “Researches  in  Sinai’’ 


The  Bethel  Stones,  etc.  131 

God  and  the  very  gate  of  heaven.  And  Jacob  .  .  . 

took  the  stone  that  he  had  put  under  his  head  and  set 
it  up  for  a  pillar  and  poured  oil  on  the  top  of  it,  and  he 
called  the  name  of  that  place  Bethel,  that  is,  house  of 
God.”  These  rude  stone  monuments  are  undoubtedly 
of  religious  origin,  whether  they  be  “  menhirs  ”  or  pillars, 
“  dolmens  ”  or  stone  tables,  “  cairns  ”  or  stone  heaps, 
“  cromlechs  ”  or  stone  circles.  Examples  of  all  these  are 
found  in  the  Bible.  The  pillar  which  Jacob  set  up  at  Bethel 
(Genesis  28:12,  35:14)  and  at  Mizpah  (Genesis  31:45) 
are  examples  of  the  menhirs.  In  early  Semitic  religion 
these  pillars  were  associated  with  the  presence  of  a  deity, 
and  were  smeared  with  blood  or  oil  as  an  act  of  worship. 
Often  these  rude  pillars  served  simply  as  a  memorial 
(Joshua  24:  26;  1  Sam.  7:  12)  or  as  a  monument  of  the 
dead  (1  Kings  23:  17,  R.  V.;  Ezekiel  39:  12).  In  many 
instances  the  stone  representing  the  deity  served  also  as  an 
altar,  but  in  very  early  times  the  altar  was  separate,  and 
might  then  be  a  natural  rock  or  something  artificially 
built  of  stone.  In  the  latter  case  the  stones  were  unhewn 
(Ex.  20:25;  Deut.  27:5;  Josh.  8:31),  as  also  Elijah’s 
altar  on  Carmel  (1  Kings  8:31).  A  good  example  of  the 
cromlech,  or  stone  circle,  with  memorial  significance  is 
that  set  up  by  Joshua  at  Gilgal  (Joshua  4).  Inscriptions 
might  be  placed  upon  such  monumental  stones  (Deut. 
7:  24),  on  altars  (Josh.  8:32)  or  on  stone  tables,  such  as 
those  on  which  the  law  was  engraved. 

Extensive  and  careful  research  among  these  Bethel  stones 
of  Sinai  makes  it  absolutely  sure  that  these  inscribed  Egyp¬ 
tian  steles  are  descended  from,  and  an  adaptation  of,  the 
Semitic  memorial  stones  of  devotion.  None  of  them  are 
in  any  sense  sepulchral.  The  next  important  point  con¬ 
cerning  these  Bethel  stones  of  Serabit  is  that  many  of 
them  scattered  over  the  hills  are  surrounded  by  circles  of 
unhewn  stones.  Around  the  larger  steles  the  circles  are 
from  10  to  15  feet  across,  and  in  many  instances  smaller 


i32 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


additional  circles  exist,  both  outside  and  inside  the  main 
circles.  These,  again,  have  suggested  other  well-known 
facts  connected  with  Semitic  or  other  shrines,  that  is,  the 
practice  of  sleeping  in  or  near  the  temple  and  shrine  of  a 
god  or  goddess  with  the  hope  of  some  revelation  from  the 
deity  or  gift  of  healing  or  beneficial  powers.  So  the  simple 
and  complete  explanations  of  these  Bethel  stones  and  their 
surrounding  circles,  almost  always  in  front  of  or  in  sight 
of  the  central  shrine,  is  that  they  were  used  as  sleeping- 
places  of  the  worshippers  at  these  shrines.1 

The  cave  shrine  at  Serabit  brings  us  at  once  into  contact 
with  another  Semitic  idea  unknown  in  Egypt,  but  well 
known  in  Syria  and  Palestine  and  all  the  adjacent  Semitic 
lands,  which  is  this,  that  every  locality  or  district  has  its 
local  deity,  who  must  be  worshipped  according  to  his  own 
ritual  by  all  the  dwellers  of  that  vicinity  who  would  escape 
the  vengeance  and  win  the  blessings  of  that  protecting 
deity. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  Syrian 
or  Semitic  miners  preceded  the  Egyptian  in  the  occupation 
of  Sinai,  and  these,  engaged  in  the  search  for  turquoise, 
recognized  the  rights  of  the  goddess  of  those  regions  and 
erected  a  shrine  to  the  “  Mistress  of  Turquoise  ”  long 
before  the  Egyptians  appeared  on  the  scene.  When 
the  Egyptians  came  they  at  once  recognized  the  goddess 
of  the  region,  and  proceeded  to  worship  her  according  to 
the  customs  or  ritual  of  that  place.  They  called  her  Hat- 
hor,  or  the  “  Mistress  of  the  Waste. ”  The  name  Hat-hor 
is  one  which  the  Egyptians  used  for  all  strange  goddesses 
“  as  readily  as  the  Italian  worships  his  old  goddesses  as 
Madonnas  of  various  places  and  qualities.  Hat-hor  was 
worshipped  under  twenty-four  different  names  in  Egypt 
at  various  places,  and  there  is  a  list  of  different  Hat-hors 
for  each  of  the  forty- two  nomes  of  Egypt.”  In  this  case 
Hat-hor  was  the  name  of  this  strange  goddess,  but  the 

1  Palmer  mentions  a  ring  of  stones  on  top  of  Serbal,  “  P.  D.  E.,”  p.  151. 


Figures  of  Sopdu  and  Amenemhat  III  (3303-3259  B.  C.,  Petrie)— Shrine  of  Kin 

From  ‘‘Researches  in  Sinai " 


The  Bethel  Stones,  etc. 


133 


shrine  was  that  of  “  The  Mistress  of  Turquoise.”  Now 
the  greatest  Semitic  goddess  was  Ashtaroth  or  Ishtar,  who, 
as  goddess  of  the  flocks  and  herds,  was  always  represented 
as  a  horned  goddess.  Seeing  that  Hat-hor,  the  goddess 
of  the  Egyptians,  was  worshipped  as  a  cow,  the  identifica¬ 
tion  of  the  two  in  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise  was  perfectly 
simple.  Some  have  even  claimed  that  Hat-hor,  the 
Egyptian  goddess  shown  in  the  form  of  a  cow,  originated 
in  the  Semitic  goddess,  whose  symbols  were  horns  at  the 
side  of  her  head.  The  fact  is,  therefore,  perfectly  plain 
that  at  this  shrine  in  Sinai  Egyptian  religious  customs  came 
into  contact  with  Semitic  ideas  and  the  ritual  of  Sinai. 
Then  after  two  or  three  thousand  years  of  worship  at  the 
primitive  shrine,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  the  Egyptians 
introduced  side  by  side  the  worship  of  the  God  of  the  East 
(Fig.  18),  who  was  called  Sopdu. 

While  this  cave  shrine  at  Serabit  was  known  to  travellers 
fifty  years  ago,  its  meaning  and  importance  was  not  even 
guessed  at.  Its  exploration  by  Petrie  some  six  years  ago 
constitutes  one  of  the  most  brilliant  chapters  in  explora¬ 
tion.  This  cave  shrine  of  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise  was 
in  existence  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Sneferu  (4750  B.  C. 
2750).  The  shrine  itself  is  a  cave  hollowed  out  from  the 
solid  sandstone,  about  15  feet  long  and  12  feet  wide,  con¬ 
taining  at  present  an  altar  stone  and  several  empty  niches. 
The  oldest  offering  here  which  can  be  dated  is  a  bit  of 
fine  gray  marbly  limestone,  on  which  is  carved  life  sized 
the  hawk  of  Sneferu,  the  last  king  of  the  III  Dynasty, 
whose  date  is  4750  B.  C.  2750.  Like  many  another  ancient 
shrine,  its  development  and  improvement  stretches  through 
.  centuries.  Perhaps  in  the  early  stages  rude  buildings 
were  erected  in  front  of  the  cave,  but  as  far  as  the  inscrip¬ 
tions,  of  which  there  are  hundreds,  give  dates,  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  the  temple  as  it  grew  outward  from  the  door  of 
the  cave  took  place  between  3450  and  1150  B.  C.,  which 
means  that  this  remarkably  interesting  temple  was 


134 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


built  in  part  before,  in  part  during,  and  in  part  after,  the 
Exodus. 

A  glance  at  the  photograph  (Fig.  19)  of  a  model  of  the 
Temple  of  Serabit,  taken  from  the  northwest,  will  give  a 
clear  idea  of  what  I  wish  to  say.  On  the  top  of  the  hill, 
as  represented,  are  two  steles,  and  below  the  temple  are 
nine  more,  all  of  which  are  about  10  feet  in  height  and 
covered  with  inscriptions  of  unique  value.  The  cave 
itself  is  under  the  highest  knoll  on  the  left  of  the  picture; 
immediately  in  front  of  it  is  a  portico  dating  back  to  3450 
B.  C.,  as  is  easily  gathered  from  the  steles  and  wall  carvings 
existing.  During  a  period  of  2300  years  from  that  date 
other  builders  from  the  XII  to  the  XX  Dynasty  added 
sanctuaries,  courts,  and  building  after  building  until  the 
temple  extended  eastward  for  a  distance  of  220  feet. 
Each  additional  room  resulted  in  pushing  the  entrance  to 
the  shrine  farther  and  farther  away  from  the  natural  rock. 
The  entrance  at  the  extreme  right  of  the  picture,  when  the 
temple  was  abandoned  about  1150  B.  C.,  is  guarded  by  two 
steles,  that  on  the  left  of  Ramessu  II,  1300  to  1234  B.  C., 
and  that  on  the  right,  Set-nekht,  1203  B.  C.  Between 
this  entrance  and  the  middle  of  the  cave  are  as  many  as 
seventeen  distinct  sections  of  the  building,  all  of  which 
contain  steles  or  inscriptions  which  settle  the  date  of  their 
erection,  and  in  many  cases  the  names  of  those  who  made 
offerings  to  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise.  The  general  ar¬ 
rangement  of  the  steles  which  have  been  recovered  can  be 
seen  in  these  photographs  of  the  model.  It  is  beyond  a 
peradventure  that  the  first  fifteen  sections  or  rooms  of  the 
temple,  counting  from  the  right,  were  all  erected  since  the 
days  of  the  Exodus.  The  high  heavy  wall  beyond  the 
fifteenth  section  is  the  pylon  of  what  was  originally  the 
front  of  the  temple  of  Thotmes  III,  whose  date  is  1481  to 
1449  B.  C.,  which  brings  it  practically  about  the  time  of  the 
Exodus.  It  is  262  feet  long  and  13  feet  high,  5  feet  8  in. 
thick  and  represents  Thotmes  III  offering  to  Hat-hor,  the 


Model  of  the  Temple  of  Serabit  from  the  Northeast,  showing  Hatshepsut’s  Shrine  of  Kings 

From  “Researches  in  Sinai” 


The  Bethel  Stones,  etc. 


135 


Mistress  of  Turquoise,  accompanied  by  several  of  his  higher 
officials.  Beyond  the  pylon  are  two  other  sections,  and  a 
court  before  the  outer  sanctuary  immediately  adjacent  to 
the  court  is  reached,  and  to  the  right  of  the  court  begins  a 
second  series  of  rooms  with  their  steles,  altars  and  stone 
tanks,  ending  in  the  hall  of  Sopdu,  the  god  of  the  East,  the 
worship  of  whom  was  added  to  the  shrine  of  the  Mistress 
of  Turquoise  by  the  Egyptian  queen  Hatshepsut,  whom  we 
have  already  met  (see  pp.  82,  83)  and  agreed  to  identify 
as  Pharaoh’s  daughter,  the  foster-mother  of  Moses,  but 
more  of  this  later. 

Turning  again  to  the  root  ideas  of  Semitic  worship, 
which  include  the  local  deity  or  god  of  the  land,  the  setting 
up  of  sacred  stones  which  were  anointed  with  oil  or  blood, 
which,  as  we  shall  see  later,  includes  the  idea  of  sacrifice 
and  the  custom  of  sleeping  near  or  in  the  shrine  of  the  god 
or  goddess,  we  have  a  complete  explanation  of  why  this 
shrine  was  founded  and  the  temple  built,  with  a  host  of 
other  interesting  facts  which  throw  light  upon  the  prob¬ 
lems  we  are  dealing  with.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  primitive  Semitic 
cave  shrine  from  two  to  three  thousand  years  older  than  the 
Mosaic  system  or  any  other  worship  known  to  us  in  Syria 
or  Arabia.  The  original  worshippers,  consecrating  some 
cave  or  opening  in  the  hill-side  to  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise, 
slept  about  the  shrine,  seeking  some  revelation  through 
dreams  as  to  where  they  might  find  the  precious  stones 
over  which  the  goddess  watched.  When  the  great  Egyptian 
builders  came  with  their  larger  expeditions,  recognizing  the 
goddess  of  the  place,  they  at  once  proceeded,  after  their 
own  Egyptian  fashion,  to  ornament  and  adorn  her  shrine. 
They  built  first  a  portico  within  the  sanctuary,  then  a  court, 
and  later  on  this  strange  series  of  rooms  communicating 
with  each  other,  until  the  total  series  extends  more  than 
220  feet  from  the  door  of  the  original  cave.  Now,  there 
is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  the  greater  part  of  these 
rooms  were  roofed  with  great  slabs  of  stone  and  perhaps 


136 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


covered  over  with  other  broken  stone  and  earth,  with  the 
result  that  each  addition  constituted  an  addition  to  the 
original  cave,  in  which  not  scores  but  hundreds  of  people 
could  sleep  and  wait  for  turquoise-bearing  dreams.  Steles 
and  offerings  were  either  in  expectation  or  grateful  recog¬ 
nition  of  successful  expeditions  to  the  mines.  Those  who 
could  not  be  accommodated  in  the  more  palatial  quarters 
of  the  growing  temple,  seized  upon  spots  around  about  the 
shrine  and  in  sight  of  it,  and  there  erected  the  hundreds 
of  steles  which  still  exist,  and  surrounded  many  of  them 
with  their  circles,  within  which  they  slept  and  watched 
also. 

Careful  research  has  revealed  in  and  about  the  temple 
the  existence  of  great  beds  of  ashes,  which  settle  beyond  a 
peradventure  the  item  of  sacrifice  in  connection  with  this 
ritual.  Petrie  and  his  helpers  have  remarked  the  difficulty 
and  expense  which  must  have  been  involved  in  transporting 
fuel  of  any  kind  to  such  a  remote  location  in  a  land  where 
fuel  must  always  have  been  scarce  and  dear.  The  ashes 
exist  in  tons,  and  even  though  extensive  sifting  has  been 
employed  in  search  for  other  remains,  not  a  fragment  of 
bone  or  fuel  has  been  found  to  give  any  clue  to  what  was 
sacrificed  or  burned.  This  fact,  however,  confirms  another 
element  in  the  Semitic  ritual,  that  of  eating  in  sacrificial 
feasts  from  the  victim  and  afterward  destroying  every 
remaining  trace  by  means  of  fire. 

Two  large  courts  immediately  adjacent  to  the  secondary 
shrine  of  Sopdu  have  been  called  “hanafiyehs,”  which 
means,  in  older  Arabic,  the  tank-room  or  place  of  ablution. 
In  our  modern  Arabic  the  word  hanafiyeh  has  been  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  ordinary  water-tap,  where  modern  cisterns 
and  water-supply  have  made  the  existence  of  such  possible. 
These  hanafiyehs  or  ablution  places  contain  tanks  large 
and  small,  which,  from  their  position,  plainly  point  to  an 
extensive  system  of  ablution,  including  perhaps  the  entire 
body,  in  connection  with  worship  or  adoration  at  the  inner 


Stele  of  Hor-ur-ra  in  XII  Dynasty  Approach 


From  “Researches  in  Sinai’ 


The  Bethel  Stones,  etc. 


137 


shrines.  If  the  reader  will  examine  the  picture  of  the 
model  again  (Fig.  19)  and,  beginning  at  the  extreme  left- 
hand  angle  of  the  temple  wall,  will  follow  the  face  of  that 
wall  for  a  distance  of  less  than  half  an  inch,  he  will  note 
such  a  tank  standing  to  the  left  of  one  of  the  ancient  gate¬ 
ways,  from  which  apparently  the  worshippers  obtained 
water  for  some  necessary  ablutions  before  entering  the 
court.  Across  this  court  are  two  large  rooms  or  extensions, 
in  which  this  system  of  ablutions  was  carried  to  its  finality 
as  the  worshipper  approached  the  inner  shrine  or  goal  of 
his  aspiration.  I  need  not  stop  here  at  this  moment  to 
discuss  this  matter  of  ablutions  in  connection  with  worship, 
further  than  to  say  that  the  system  in  use  at  Sinai  about 
1500  B.  C.  is  evidently  the  same  as  that  found  about  the 
high  places  at  Petra,1  the  Jewish  worship  at  Jerusalem  of 
1000  B.  C.  and  the  Muslim  worship  of  the  mosques  to  the 
present  day. 

What  concerns  us  more  peculiarly  in  these  Bethel  stones, 
the  Cave  shrine  and  the  Temple  at  Serabit  are  other  fas¬ 
cinating  facts  bearing  upon  Bible  history  before,  during  and 
after  the  Exodus.  If  the  reader  will  again  glance  at  the  stele 
of  Hor-ur-ra  (Fig.  20)  and  those  which  appear  behind  it, 
not  to  mention  perhaps  a  hundred  others,  all  of  which  were 
erected  as  acts  of  worship  or  adoration  to  the  god  of  that 
place,  he  will  be  interested  to  learn  that  every  one  of  these 
steles  or  Bethel  stones  had  been  standing  for  from  300  to 
2000  years  before  Jacob  set  up  his  pillar  at  Bethel  and 
anointed  it  with  oil,  when  he  recognized  the  presence  of 
the  Lord  in  that  place.  Some  of  these  steles  were  standing 
in  the  days  of  Abraham,  and  it  is  not  at  all  an  impossibility 
that  both  Isaac  and  Jacob  may  have  passed  through  this 
region  on  their  way  from  Beersheba  to  Egypt,  because 
this  region  undoubtedly  was  known  in  all  those  countries 
as  Horeb,  the  Mount  of  God.  An  interesting  confirmation 
has  been  picked  up  in  the  Hat-hor,  in  the  nomes  nearest  the 
1  Chapter  XXX.  “  J.  V.  and  P.,”  Vol.  II,  p.  200. 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


138 

desert  and  Arabia.  She  was  called  Hat-hor  or  the  Goddess 
of  the  Waste  in  the  Egyptian  tongue.  Now  the  word 
Horeb,  as  used  in  Hebrew  and  also  in  the  modern  Arabic, 
is  plainly  connected  with  the  Arabic  word  “haraba”  or 
“kharaba,”  which  means  to  destroy,  and  if  there  exists 
upon  the  face  of  this  earth  a  desert  which  in  its  sublimity 
and  desolation  can  represent  one  of  the  waste  places  of 
creation,  it  is  surely  this  desert  of  Sinai — it  is  the  waste 
of  God. 

The  immediate  connection  of  this  temple  at  Serabit  with 
the  Exodus  is,  without  doubt,  the  most  fascinating  and  the 
strangest  possible.  We  have  tentatively  identified  the 
Queen  Hat-shep-sut  with  Pharaoh’s  daughter  who  adopted 
Moses  (pp.  82,  83).  Now  it  turns  out  that  Queen  Hat- 
shep-sut,  plainly  a  lover  of  precious  stones  and  jewelry,  was 
the  greatest  builder  about  the  shrine  of  the  Mistress  of  Tur¬ 
quoise  in  Sinai.  Her  date  has  been  given  as  from  1503  to 
1481  B.  C.,  and  if  Moses  was  forty  years  old  at  the  time  of 
the  Exodus,  then  his  connection  with  Hat-shep-sut  dated 
backward  for  at  least  thirty-five  years  into  her  reign.  Now, 
this  Queen  Hat-shep-sut  is  the  one  who  built  the  shrine  of 
Sopdu,  and  added  this  worship  of  the  God  of  the  East  to 
the  old  sacred  cave  which  belonged  to  the  Mistress  of 
Turquoise.  Now,  Sopdu  was  largely  worshipped,  as  al¬ 
ready  mentioned,  in  the  Arabian  nome,  that  is,  the  desert 
east  of  the  Delta.  She  also  built  the  two  large  “hanafiyehs” 
or  tank-rooms,  which  are  the  most  imposing  part  of  the 
whole  temple;  one  of  these  is  called  the  Hat-hor  hanafiyeh 
and  the  other  the  hanafiyeh  of  Hat-shep-sut.  Apparently, 
then,  she  developed  and  attached  great  importance  to  the 
ceremonial  ablutions,  which  are  one  of  the  most  character¬ 
istic  features  of  all  Semitic  rituals.  One  cannot  but  pause 
at  this  point  to  ask  the  question  as  to  whether  it  was  not 
Moses  who,  the  Bible  says,  was  “educated  in  all  the 
knowledge  of  the  Egyptians,”  did  not  in  turn  influence 
and  guide  his  foster-mother  in  her  attitude  towrard  this 


The  Bethel  Stones,  etc.  139 

feature  of  Semitic  instinct  which  links  cleanliness  close  to 
godliness. 

Hat-shep-sut  also  founded  and  built  what  is  called  the 
“  Shrine  of  Kings,”  on  the  north  side  of  the  temple.  It  is 
that  excavation  in  the  rock  (see  Fig.  19)  containing  two 
large  steles  immediately  below  the  heavy  pylon  of  Thot- 
mes  III.  It  is  a  space  26  feet  long  and  about  17  feet  wide. 
There  was  a  roof  covering  perhaps  half  of  the  area  supported 
by  some  fluted  columns  which  lie  where  they  fell.  The 
carvings  which  adorn  the  walls  of  the  rock  cutting  are 
badly  damaged,  but  the  subjects  mentioned  are  the  earliest 
king  Sneferu,  who  was  the  first  of  the  Egyptians  to  open  a 
mine  in  Sinai,  and  Amenemhat  III  (3259  B.  C.  1700)  and 
Hat-shep-sut  herself.  There  were  also  the  representations 
of  the  divinities  Hat-hor  and  Sopdu.  The  inscription 
mentions  the  honoring  of  Sneferu  by  Hat-shep-sut,  and 
gives  a  long  account  of  the  founding  of  the  shrine  by  that 
queen,  also  a  long  recital  of  all  the  offerings  that  were  to 
be  made,  and,  as  Petrie  adds,  “  there  is  no  other  such  monu¬ 
ment  known  which  makes  us  regret  the  more  that  it  is  not 
in  better  preservation.”  It  must  have  had  some  intimate 
connection  with  the  Great  Temple  at  Deir  el  Bahari  which 
was  erected  by  Queen  Hat-shep-sut  in  honor  of  Amen-Ra, 
her  father,  Thotmes  I,  and  her  brother-husband,  Thotmes 
II,  where  there  was  also  a  Cave-Shrine  incorporated  with 
the  Great  Temple  and  beautified  by  a  pillared  hall  before  it. 

Not  far  from  the  Great  Temple  at  Bahari,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  hill,  is  a  tomb  with  an  extraordinary  corkscrew 
entrance,  which  contains  the  empty  sarcophagus  of  Hat- 
shep-sut,  from  which  the  body  had  been  removed  for  safe¬ 
keeping  during  the  XXI  Dynasty.  And  not  far  away,  in 
“  The  Place  of  Eternity,”  was  found  in  1898  the  tomb  of 
Amenhetep  II  intact,  with  some  mummies  and  other  re¬ 
markable  objects  which  had  evidently  been  brought 
hastily  from  other  tombs,  including  a  model  boat  across 
which  lay  the  body  of  a  woman  and  other  mummies,  one 


140  From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 

of  which  may  be  Hat-shep-sut.  So  this  remarkable  woman 
in  life  and  in  death  is  connected  with  the  greatest  persons 
and  events  in  all  Egyptian  history. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  Moses  knew  perfectly 
well  this  whole  district  of  Horeb,  the  Mount  of  God,  and 
his  connection  with  his  royal  foster-mother  Hat-shep-sut, 
he  certainly  knew  of  this  temple  at  Serabit  and  its  worship, 
and  of  the  presence  or  absence  of  mining  expeditions  in 
Sinai  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus.  He  recognized  also  the 
heathen  characteristics  of  this  worship  and,  therefore, 
deserves  all  the  more  credit  for  purifying  and  reforming 
Hebrew  faith,  influenced  as  it  must  have  been  by  other 
faiths  in  Egypt  and  Sinai.  Not  a  few  of  the  critics  have 
urged  the  impossibility  of  the  Mosaic  legislation  against 
the  pillars,  the  high  places,  the  sacrifice  of  human  beings, 
on  the  ground  that  the  Children  of  Israel  never  came  in 
contact  with  such  until  many  years  later,  when  they  came 
in  contact  with  it  in  the  Promised  Land,  but  here  is  abso¬ 
lutely  indisputable  evidence  that  all  the  main  features 
of  this  ancient  Semitic  ritual  were  known  to  the  worship¬ 
pers  at  the  shrine  of  Hat-hor,  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise, 
and  were  certainly  well  known  to  Moses  in  his  relations 
with  Hat-shep-sut,  the  Egyptian  queen.  And  when  Moses 
at  Sinai  was  given  “  miraculously  ”  or  otherwise  the  moral 
law  which,  through  God’s  chosen  people,  has  become  the 
foundation  of  all  progress  in  Jewish  and  modern  history, 
what  is  more  natural  than  that  it  should  have  been  written 
on  plates  of  stone  and  carried  forward  by  the  Children  of 
Israel  into  the  Promised  Land  and  into  all  human  history? 

If  the  old  fallacy  of  some  of  the  critics,  that  writing  was 
not  known  or  in  common  use  in  the  days  of  Moses,  and, 
therefore,  the  so-called  Mosaic  legislation  could  not  have 
been  committed  to  writing  at  that  date,  needed  a  death¬ 
blow,  we  have  the  means  at  hand.  Second  in  importance 
only  to  the  Semitic  ritual  and  the  hundreds  of  inscribed 
steles  is  the  recovery  of  another  ancient  language,  which 


The  Bethel  Stones,  etc. 


141 

up  to  this  moment  has  not  been  deciphered.  After  the 
great  officials  of  the  mining  expeditions  had  set  up  their 
offerings  in  the  shape  of  the  wonderful  steles  around  the 
shrine  of  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise  and  had  taken  their 
departure,  the  hired  miners  from  Syria  or  where  (?)  came 
and  scratched  their  own  inscriptions  in  this  unknown  hand 
on  the  edges  and  blank  sections  of  the  Egyptian  steles. 
It  was  Mrs.  Petrie’s  eye  that  caught  sight  of  inscribed 
fragments  on  the  broken  rocks  of  a  mine,  following  which 
careful  search  recovered  the  fragments  of  about  eight  tab¬ 
lets  which  are  now  a  standing  challenge  to  some  brilliant 
scholar  to  read.  Mr.  Petrie  says  that  while  we  are  as  yet 
unable  to  connect  it  with  signs  of  any  known  value — 

“  (1)  It  is  a  definite  system,  and  not  merely  a  scribbling 
made  in  ignorant  imitation  of  Egyptian  writing  by  men 
who  knew  no  better.  The  repetition  of  the  same  five  signs 
in  the  same  order  on  the  figure  and  on  the  sphinx  from  the 
temple,  as  well  as  on  three  of  the  tablets  over  the  mines  a 
mile  and  a  half  distant,  show  that  mere  fancy  is  not  the 
source  of  this  writing. 

“  (2)  It  is  always  associated  with  the  work  of  a  style 
different  from  all  the  usual  Egyptian  work  here,  a  peculiar 
local  style  which  was  not  followed  by  any  one  trained  in 
Egyptian  methods. 

“  (3)  The  direction  of  the  writing  was  from  left  to  right, 
contrary  to  later  Semitic  and  most  Egyptian  writing. 

“  (4)  It  is  used  about  the  XVIII  Dynasty.  The  only 
indication  of  date  that  I  could  find  at  the  mine  ‘  L  ’  was 
a  bit  of  buff  pottery  with  the  red  and  black  stripe,  which  we 
know  to  be  characteristic  of  the  time  of  Tahutmes  III,  and 
perhaps  rather  earlier,  but  not  later.  The  figure1  was 
found  at  the  doorway  of  the  shrine  of  Sopdu  which  was 
built  by  Hat-shep-sut.  The  sphinx  is  of  red  sandstone 
which  was  used  by  Tahutmes  III  and  not  at  other  times. 
The  veneration  of  Sneferu,  apparently  named  on  the  sphinx, 

1  Fig.  138,  “P.  R.  S .” 


142 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


was  strong  under  Tahutmes  III,  but  no  trace  of  it  is  found 
later.  Each  of  these  facts  is  not  conclusive  by  itself,  but 
they  all  agree,  and  we  are  bound  to  accept  this  writing  as 
being  of  about  1500  B.  C.” 

Here,  then,  are  written  records  kept  for  us  intact  from 
the  days  of  the  Exodus,  and  from  apparently  one  of  the 
most  unlikely  points  along  the  Route.  With  what  genuine 
expectation  may  we  not  await  the  breaking  of  the  seal  of 
these  ancient  documents. 

If  I  were  an  epic  poet,  instead  of  a  missionary,  I  think  I 
could  find  an  enchanting  theme  in  this  romance  of  Sinai. 
Starting  with  this  rock  sculpture  of  an  Egyptian  king 
smiting  a  Bedawy,  personifying  the  struggle  of  the  ancient 
races  around  the  shrine  of  the  Mistress  of  Turquoise, 
I  would  follow  the  exploits  of  the  searchers  for  the  precious 
stones  from  the  mines  of  Sinai  through  the  homes,  the  pal¬ 
aces,  the  tombs  of  ancient  Egypt.  I  would  trace  this 
love  for  jewels  from  the  heart  of  primitive  man  through  all 
grades  of  society  to  the  heart  of  the  Egyptian  Queen  Hat- 
shep-sut,  whose  turquoise-girdled  arms  and  neck  became 
the  resting-place  of  the  Hebrew  child,  and  whose  adoration 
at  that  famous  shrine  in  Sinai  left  for  other  generations 
monuments  of  her  favor  and  power.  I  would  follow  Moses 
through  that  life  in  an  Egyptian  palace,  out  into  the  desert 
again,  where  he  must  have  learned  to  hate  that  green  stone 
of  his  foster  queen  mother  after  all  those  theophanies  at 
Sinai.  I  would  reveal  the  secret  of  why  he  omitted  from 
the  breast-plate  of  the  High  Priest  of  Tabernacle  and  Tem¬ 
ple  the  best-known  precious  stone  of  the  ancient  Egyptians. 
For  such  a  romance  would  bring  us  into  contact  with  every 
art  and  department  of  ancient  life  and  learning — ethnology, 
mineralogy,  chronology,  archaeology,  dynasties,  commerce, 
art  and  religion — because  traces  of  all  these  still  exist  among 
the  grim,  lonely,  sublime  granite  peaks  of  Sinai. 


CHAPTER  XII 


REPHIDIM  AND  WADY  FEIRAN 

Leaving  Wady  Maghareh  by  the  same  narrow  entrance, 
we  turned  again  into  Wady  Sidreh,  which  bends  south, 
and  after  an  hour  leads  to  a  wide  table-land.  Due  east 
opens  a  valley  called  Wady  Nebaa,  but  our  road  swung 
round  to  the  south  and  into  the  famous  Wady  Mukattab, 
or  Valley  of  the  Inscriptions.  We  lunched  that  day  at 
the  angle  of  the  two  valleys,  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  pros¬ 
pect  to  the  north  and  east.  We  were  now  in  contact  with 
another  line  of  evidence  which  greatly  strengthens  the 
position  we  have  taken  concerning  this  ancient  highway 
through  Sinai.  The  foot  of  the  mountain  on  the  west  side 
of  the  valley  is  strewn  with  blocks  of  sandstone  which  are 
covered  with  rude  inscriptions,  which  in  past  ages  and  in 
recent  years  have  excited  the  liveliest  interest  among  trav¬ 
ellers  and  have  given  rise  to  some  of  the  most  fantastic 
theories  imaginable.  They  have  been  called  “  The  In¬ 
scriptions  of  Sinai,”  and  as  early  as  535  A.  D.  a  certain 
“  Indian  traveller,”  named  Cosmas,  circulated  the  story 
that  they  had  actually  been  executed  by  the  Israelites 
during  the  Exodus.  This  story  has  hung  round  the  valley, 
and  even  in  recent  times  was  revived  by  another  traveller, 
who  outdid  all  his  predecessors  in  fantastic  foolishness. 
During  the  past  fifty  years  they  have  all  been  carefully 
copied  and  studied,  and  have  turned  out  to  be  very  largely 
in  the  Nabathean  character;1  others  are  in  Greek  and  a  few 
are  in  Coptic  and  Arabic.  The  smaller  figures,  entirely 
destitute  of  any  artistic  value,  represent  armed  and  un- 

1  See  “  J.  V.  and  P.,”  Vol.  II,  p.  62. 

143 


146 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


almost  invariably  in  the  name  of  Horeb,1  while  the  actual 
discussion  of  events  within  the  district,  and  especially  of 
records  whose  origin  is  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
district,  make  use  of  the  word  Sinai. 

I  may  also  add  here  another  remark  which  I  shall  find 
necessary  to  repeat  elsewhere,  that  the  attempts  to  defi¬ 
nitely  identify  special  spots  or  the  absolute  location  of  Bib¬ 
lical  events  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  unreasonable 
and  useless  efforts  possible.  It  can  be  said  truthfully  that 
of  all  New  Testament  events,  the  absolute  location  of  but 
two  are  known:  the  one  is  the  hallelujah  corner  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  where  Jewish  pilgrims  to  their  royal  city, 
following  the  changeless  ancient  road,  first  caught  sight  of 
the  temple  and  began  to  sing  their  Songs  of  Degrees,  and 
the  other  is  Jacob’s  well,  at  Nablus  or  Shechem.  Naught 
but  the  carefully  located  monuments  on  the  battlefields 
of  Waterloo  and  Gettysburg  could  preserve  for  three  gener¬ 
ations  the  separate  localities  at  which  occurred  the  most 
thrilling  events  of  those  great  struggles,  and  both  these 
events  are  almost  within  the  memory  of  living  participants, 
therefore  it  is  futile  and  unreasonable  to  expect  that  we 
shall  ever  be  able  to  locate  absolutely  the  exact  spots 
where  even  the  great  events  connected  with  the  Exodus 
occurred.  Tradition  often  seizes  upon  rocks  and  peaks  in 
connection  with  sacred  events,  and,  curiously  enough, 
almost  always  prefers  the  highest  peak  or  location  in  the 
vicinity,  and  this  in  contradiction  to  our  well-known  ex¬ 
perience  that  not  always  the  highest  peak  or  the  most  prom¬ 
inent  shoulder  of  a  mountain  gives  the  finest  and  most 
comprehensive  view.  This  can  be  thoroughly  justified  at 
Rephidim,  at  Sinai,  at  Mount  Hor,  at  Nebo,  and  at  the 
Mount  of  Olives  and  Carmel,  as  well  as  on  the  lower  spurs 
of  Mount  Hermon,  the  most  probable  scene  of  the  trans¬ 
figuration.  Now,  the  Biblical  events  recorded  at  Rephidim 

1  The  Jahvistic  Document  uses  “Sinai”  according  to  the  critics,  which 
agrees  with  my  remark — Chapter  XVIII. 


Oasis  of  Feiran — Central  portion  and  site  of  ancient  city  looking  west.  Rude  Bedawin  huts  in  shadow.  Stream 

of  water  to  the  right.  Exit  toward  Sinai  among  palms  to  the  right 


Rephidim  and  Wady  Feiran  147 

are  that  the  people  strove  with  Moses  and  tempted  the 
Lord  because  there  was  no  water  to  drink  (Exodus  17 :  1-7). 
It  is  absolutely  sure  that  these  events  took  place  in  this 
famous  valley  of  Wady  Feiran,  at  some  point  below  the 
district  where  the  present  copious  stream  of  sparkling  water 
is  lost  beneath  the  sands  and  beds  of  gravel.  Tradition 
seized  upon  a  certain  rock  at  which  the  Arabs  still  cast 
pebbles,  imitating  the  action  of  the  Hebrews  as  referred 
to  in  one  of  the  lingering  traditions,  but  in  this  valley  there 
are  a  hundred  other  spots  where  the  smiting  of  the  rock  or 
the  opening  of  a  sealed  or  unknown  subterranean  stream 
might  just  as  well  have  taken  place.  The  main  features 
are  unmistakably  clear,  as  we  shall  see  later.  Barred  by 
the  Amalekites  from  marching  up  the  valley  to  the  springs 
of  water,  they  were  obliged  to  camp  where  thirst  drove 
them  into  rebellion  against  both  Moses  and  the  Lord.  The 
second  event  is  recorded  in  the  defeat  of  Amalek  (Exo¬ 
dus  17:  8-16).  As  we  shall  see  later,  the  Oasis  of  Feiran, 
lying  between  Rephidim  and  the  localized  Sinai,  is  the  most 
important  spot  in  the  whole  peninsula.  It  well  deserves 
its  name,  “  the  pearl  of  Sinai,”  and  must  have  been  in 
every  period  of  ancient  history  the  most  coveted  and 
valuable  possession  of  the  dwellers  in  the  peninsula. 
Many  of  those  who  have  discussed  this  problem  of  Rephi¬ 
dim  and  the  victory  over  the  Amalekites  have  repeated  that 
strange  process  of  straining  at  the  gnat  and  swallowing 
the  camel. 

One  of  the  most  impressive  and  mysterious  facts,  as 
noted  by  travellers  and  military  men,  is  the  marvelous 
way  in  which  rumors  and  reports  are  spread  through  a 
desert  or  sparsely  inhabited  country,  and  one  could  give 
an  almost  endless  series  of  illustrations  concerning  this 
custom  so  puzzling  to  foreigners.  Our  cameleers  never 
met  and  passed  other  cameleers,  either  going  in  the  same  or 
coming  from  the  opposite  direction,  without  interviewing 
every  man  along  the  line  and  exchanging  some  items  of 


148 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


information  or  asking  questions  concerning  other  facts 
which  had  come  to  their  knowledge.  Add  this  to  the  fact 
that  still  other  Arabs  often  crossed  our  line  of  travel  at 
right  angles.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  within 
sixty  hours  after  we  reached  the  Springs  of  Moses  our 
presence  was  known  in  every  corner  of  the  peninsula. 
Now,  it  is  perfectly  sure  that  in  just  the  same  way  the  news 
of  the  escape  of  the  Children  of  Israel  was  carried  within 
a  limited  number  of  days  to  every  section  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  peninsula.  There  is  nothing  strange  or  impossible 
in  this  matter.  It  could  not  have  been  otherwise. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  the  Midianites 
was  a  general  term,  covering  at  that  particular  time  almost 
all  the  dwellers  north  and  east  of  Sinai,  in  just  the  same 
way  as  our  general  term  Bedawin  covers  them  to-day,  and 
that  the  Kenites  and  Amalekites  were  the  local  names  of 
tribes  or  sections  in  just  the  same  way  that  the  Sawalihah 
and  Aleikat  are  divisions  of  the  present  inhabitants  whose 
general  name  is  Towwara,  or  dwellers  in  the  mountain, 
in  contradiction  to  those  who  dwell  farther  north  in  the 
plains. 

The  Amalekites,  according  to  the  Bible  story,  were 
plainly  the  owners  or  possessors  of  the  Oasis  of  Feiran  at 
that  time.  During  the  first  month  which  elapsed  after 
the  Children  of  Israel  left  Egypt  the  report  went  forward 
among  the  Amalekites,  and  it  would  be  speedily  known  by 
which  route  the  Children  of  Israel  were  journeying.  It 
would  require  neither  the  foresight  of  a  prophet  nor  the 
information  from  the  Children  of  Israel  themselves  to 
assure  the  Amalekites  that  the  Children  of  Israel  were 
making  straight  for  this  marvelous  oasis,  “  the  Pearl  of 
Sinai.” 

The  next  important  fact,  so  plain  and  simple  to  the 
dweller  in  this  land  or  to  the  really  observant  traveller  pass¬ 
ing  through,  is  that  in  choosing  a  rendezvous  the  dwellers 
of  the  country,  at  that  time  the  Amalekites  or  to-day  the 


Rephidim  and  Wady  Feiran 


149 


Bedawin  tribes,  would,  of  necessity,  choose  a  spot  where 
there  was  abundance  of  water  and  adjacent  space  enough 
to  accommodate  the  flocks  and  animals  which,  of  necessity, 
must  come  with  both  the  Amalekites  and  the  Bedawin 
when  they  gather  for  warlike  purposes.  Now,  there  is 
absolutely  no  other  spot  in  the  whole  peninsula  to  be  for 
one  moment  compared  with  this  Oasis  of  Feiran;  therefore 
it  is  the  simplest  deduction  of  common  sense,  which  har¬ 
monizes  absolutely  with  the  Biblical  narrative,  that  the 
Amalekites  would,  of  necessity,  flock  to  their  most  cherished 
and  precious  possession,  the  water  and  pasturage  of  the 
oasis,  and  there  defend  themselves  and  their  possessions 
against  this  strange  host  which  had  escaped  from  Egypt 
and  was  entering  their  country.  Those  who  have  journeyed 
across  the  various  desert  stretches  of  Arabia  tell  us  that, 
in  many  of  the  locations  where  water  is  said  to  exist,  it 
consists  more  often  than  otherwise  of  a  dirty  shallow 
well,  and  that  the  contents  of  these  wells  are  drained  to  the 
last  drop  by  a  single  caravan  containing  twenty  or  thirty 
Arabs  with  as  many  camels.  We  have  already  noted  an 
instance  of  this  at  Marah  (see  page  70).  This  fact,  coupled 
with  our  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  present  water- 
supply  of  all  Sinai,  which  is  undoubtedly  the  same  as  the 
ancient  water-supply,  makes  it  certain  that  any  great  body 
of  people  assembling  to  oppose  the  coming  of  the  Chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel  must  have  assembled  at  the  Oasis  of  Feiran 
and  nowhere  else.  Therefore  we  can  clearly  understand 
that  the  Amalekites  were  waiting  for  the  Children  of  Israel 
at  this  point,  and,  according  to  every  law  of  modern  or 
ancient  warfare,  while  encamped  about  their  springs  and 
abundant  supply  of  water,  they  would  sally  forth  to  meet 
their  enemy  in  the  thirsty  desert  at  some  point  beyond. 
And  this  is  exactly  what  happened  to  the  Children  of 
Israel,  who  were  stopped  at  some  point  one,  two,  three, 
four  or  five  hours  below  the  oasis  in  a  waterless  district 
which  the  Bible  knows  as  Rephidim. 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


ISO 

After  the  mountains  of  the  peninsula,  the  most  striking 
feature  of  the  whole  district  is  the  peculiar  formation  of 
the  valleys.  Many  years  ago  the  great  traveller  Burck- 
hardt  remarked  that  most  of  the  valleys  of  Sinai  sloped 
gently  upward  to  the  summits  of  the  mountains,  where 
they  terminated  in  a  plain  wide  or  long  as  the  case  might 
be,  and  then  sloped  gently  down  again,  and  while  we  in 
our  route  followed  undoubtedly  the  route  of  the  Children 
of  Israel  and  the  route  of  the  traders  of  all  antiquity  from 
the  oasis  to  Sinai,  cutting  across  mountain  ridges  from 
valley  to  valley,  it  would  have  been  possible  to  have  reached 
the  final  elevation  of  5200  feet  on  Sinai  by  following  another 
route  through  the  well-known  valleys  which  slope  upward 
as  gently  as  the  finest  boulevards  of  the  most  civilized 
country  in  the  world.  What  this  means  will  be  better  un¬ 
derstood  by  an  outline  description  of  this  Wady  Feiran, 
in  the  first  vale  of  which  we  pitched  our  tents  the  night 
after  our  visit  to  Maghareh.  If,  instead  of  journeying 
across  the  plain  of  El-Markha  eastward  to  Hanak  el  Lagm, 
we  had  continued  southward  along  the  seashore,  and 
passed  the  promontory  which  marks  the  southern  limit 
of  that  plain,  we  could  there  have  entered  the  wide  open¬ 
ing  of  the  Valley  of  Feiran  which  swings  generally  to  the 
northeast  for  a  distance  of  twenty  miles,  and  then  turns 
southeast  for  another  fifteen  miles  until  it  reaches  the 
oasis,  the  Pearl  of  Sinai,  at  the  base  of  Serbal.  The  valley 
then  winds  for  another  five  miles  to  the  limits  of  the  oasis, 
where  the  same  valley,  changing  its  name  to  Wady  es- 
Sheikh,  swings  eastward  for  another  eighteen  miles  before 
it  turns  at  right  angles  southward  for  another  ten  miles  to 
the  Monastery  of  Sinai,  almost  dividing  the  peninsula  from 
side  to  side,  a  swing  of  80  to  90  miles  in  a  winding  valley 
to  cover  an  air  line  of,  say,  about  half  that  distance. 

Into  and  out  of  this  greatest  and  most  famous  of  all  the 
valleys  open  other  valleys  and  routes  northward,  through 
the  desert  of  the  wanderings  toward  Beersheba,  Gaza  and 


Rephidim  and  Wady  Feiran  151 

the  Mediterranean  coast  to  Hazeroth,  Kadesh  Barnea 
and  the  Valley  of  the  Jordan,  to  Akaba,  Petra  and  the 
East  Jordan  country,  to  Damascus  and  the  Valley  of  the 
Euphrates,  and,  again,  through  Akaba  to  Arabia  and  the 
farther  East.  I  draw  attention  once  more  at  this  point 
to  this  all-important  fact,  travellers  and  traders  of  all 
antiquity  coming  from  Phoenecia  and  the  west  Jordan 
country  were  no  doubt  accustomed  to  take  the  short  and 
dangerous  route  from  Gaza  by  the  seacoast  into  Egypt, 
but  that  all  other  travellers  from  the  Jordan  Valley  and 
eastward,  which  includes  Mesopotamia  and  Arabia,  wrere 
much  more  likely  to  take  this  route  through  Sinai  than  they 
were  to  cross  the  desert  of  et  Tih.  I  again  repeat  that 
these  routes  were  fixed  by  the  existence  and  abundance  of 
water,  and  into  this  Valley  of  Feiran  came  the  Children 
of  Israel. 

Our  path  down  the  Wady  el  Mukattab,  which  was  un¬ 
doubtedly  theirs  also,  enters  the  Wady  Feiran  at  the  angle 
where  the  valley  turns  its  upward  slope  from  the  north¬ 
east  to  the  southeast.  We  pitched  our  tents  in  the  first 
vale  of  Feiran.  It  is  said  that  the  valley  from  this  point 
to  the  seacoast  is  stonier  and  rougher  than  anywhere  else 
in  its  course,  but  not  at  all  impassable.  The  vale  where 
we  camped  is  fully  a  mile  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and  at 
this  point  would  easily  accommodate  the  number  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  according  to  the  revised  estimate.  Just 
above  this  vale  in  the  valley  itself  are  black  hills  which  ap¬ 
parently  cut  off  all  progress  in  that  direction,  but  when 
one  approaches  along  the  gently  ascending  slope  a  second 
vale  opens  beyond  which  is  fully  half  a  mile  across  and  more 
than  a  mile  long,  and  these  vales  are  closed  in  by  the  moun¬ 
tain  ranges  on  every  side.  Then  for  fully  five  hours,  as 
camels  travel,  we  passed  turn  after  turn,  corner  after  corner, 
winding  and  twisting  among  the  peaks  and  mountains 
scarred  and  blackened,  rugged  and  shattered,  before  we 
reached  the  first  signs  of  vegetation  and  of  living  life,  which 


!52 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


indicated  our  approach  to  this  enchanting  oasis  amid  the 
granite  peaks  of  the  peninsula.  Now,  just  as  was  remarked 
concerning  the  possible  location  of  the  water-supply  to  the 
Children  of  Israel  by  the  smiting  of  the  rock,  so  we  may  say 
there  are  any  one  of  a  hundred  peaks  among  these  vales 
where  Moses  could  have  stood  and  watched  the  wavering 
conflict  between  the  Children  of  Israel  and  the  Amalekites, 
thus  defending  their  most  precious  possessions  of  water, 
pasturage  and  ancestral  camping-places  against  the  in¬ 
road  of  the  Children  of  Israel,  and  they,  driven  desperate 
by  the  lack  of  water  for  their  families  and  their  flocks, 
fighting  under  God’s  guidance,  their  way  through  and  up¬ 
ward  to  the  Promised  Land. 

While  the  Biblical  narrative  is  perfectly  clear  as  to  the 
smiting  of  the  rock  and  the  defeat  of  the  Amalekites  at 
Rephidim,  it  is  much  more  likely  that  the  visit  of  Jethro, 
the  father-in-law  of  Moses,  took  place  at  the  oasis  above, 
and  after  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  the  Amalekites  had 
reached  the  ears  of  the  Kenites,  another  branch  of  the 
Midianites,  who  had  sheltered  Moses  and  given  him  a  wife 
in  the  days  when  he  fled  from  the  face  of  Pharaoh  and  hid 
himself  in  the  same  desert  So  that  I  shall  leave  this  event 
for  notice  later  on,  marking  only  the  one  fact,  that  accord¬ 
ing  to  internal  evidence  of  the  narrative,  when  the  Children 
of  Israel  reached  Rephidim  they  were  already  at  Horeb , 
the  Mount  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  OASIS  OF  FEIRAN,  THE  PEARL  OF  SINAI 

The  word  oasis  was  originally  the  proper  name  of  a  fer¬ 
tile  spot  in  the  Libyan  desert  where  there  is  a  spring  or 
well  and  more  or  less  vegetation.  Now  it  means  any  fer¬ 
tile  tract  in  the  midst  of  a  barren  waste.  To  most  readers 
it  recalls  a  picture  in  a  schoolboy  geography,  a  waste  of 
desert  sand,  a  few  palm  trees,  a  naked  savage,  a  spring  or 
well  of  water,  and  a  wealth  of  burning  sunshine  forming  an 
isle  of  the  sandy  sea.  This  may  do  for  poetry  and  art,  but 
it  is  inaccurate  as  geography. 

In  the  tropical  zone  of  all  continents,  where  the  heat  is 
extreme  and  the  rainfall  heavy,  we  find  dense  and  almost 
uninhabited  forests.  Where  the  rainfall  is  light  or  nil 
we  have  deserts.  In  most  large  deserts  there  are  vast 
stretches  of  sand  which  drift  before  the  wind  into  dunes 
or  sandhills,  and  the  greater  part  of  such  deserts  is  made  up 
of  almost  arid  plains,  stony  plateaus,  deep  valleys  and 
mountain  ranges.  And  such  is  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai. 
Wherever  water  can  be  brought  upon  the  soil  of  a  desert 
the  resulting  vegetation  will  be  an  oasis,  though  almost  of 
necessity  the  water  of  an  oasis  to  produce  an  appreciable 
vegetation  must  be  a  running  stream,  and  the  word  oasis 
in  Sinai  is  applied  only  to  such.  The  extent  of  the  culti¬ 
vated  area  depends  entirely  upon  the  abundance  or  paucity 
of  the  stream.  It  is  one  of  these  inexplicable  mysteries  of 
nature,  a  miracle  it  often  seems,  that  the  most  barren  and 
repulsive  desert  will  suddenly  blossom  into  life  and  beauty 
whenever  it  is  awakened  by  rain  or  irrigation.  Another 
distinction  which  needs  to  be  borne  in  mind  for  the  sake 


153 


154 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


of  clearness  is  that  so  often  carelessly  lost  sight  of,  between 
“  desert  ”  and  “  wilderness.”  “  Desert  ”  primarily  refers  to 
the  absence  of  water  and  hence  is  void  of  vegetation,  while 
“  wilderness  ”  is  originally  a  tract  of  wild  land  or  region  in¬ 
habited  only  by  wild  beasts.  It  is  not  necessarily  void  of 
either  water  or  vegetation.  Deuteronomy  32 :  10  says  poet¬ 
ically  that  God  found  Israel  “  in  a  desert  land  and  in  the 
waste  howling  wilderness.”  So  I  do  no  violence  to  language 
or  fact  when  I  suggest  that  we  come  nearer  the  truth  if  we 
translate  the  “  wilderness  of  Sinai  ”  by  the  “  oasis  of  Sinai,” 
and  leave  the  “  desert  of  Sinai  ”  to  cover  the  patches  of  real 
desert  which  exist  within  that  district.  Unfortunately  both 
“  wilderness  ”  and  “  desert  ”  are  represented  in  Hebrew  by 
only  one  and  the  same  word,  medbar,1  which  is  one  of  such 
multiplex  meanings  as  entirely  different  as  our  English 
words  “  desert,”  “  wilderness  ”  and  “  pasture  land.” 
So  with  this  provisional  correction  of  our  ideas  concerning 
these  important  words,  we  may  now  proceed  to  describe 
the  Oasis  of  Feiran  as  the  “  Pearl  of  Sinai,”  which,  with 
the  extensive  series  of  original  photographs,  ought  to  give 
some  true  conception  concerning  this  most  enchanting  spot 
of  the  peninsula. 

The  Oasis  of  Feiran  is  not  an  “  isle  of  the  sandy  sea,” 
but  an  irregular  strip  of  fertility  some  six  miles  long,  lying 
within  a  cradle  of  granite  mountains  whose  massive  red 
slopes  and  jagged  summits,  now  crowding  close  and  then 
receding,  present  an  enchanting  contrast  to  this  sinuous 
line  of  living,  almost  liquid,  green.  It  is  the  extreme  north¬ 
ern  section  of  the  Wady  Feiran,  and  lying  at  the  base  of 
Serbal,  one  of  the  grandest  peaks  of  Sinai,  its  copious  supply 
of  clear  sparkling  water  has  made  it  in  all  history  the  most 
precious  possession  of  the  peninsula — the  “  Pearl  of  Sinai.” 

Ten  miles  below  the  oasis  proper  we  come  upon  signs 
of  vegetation — the  trunks  of  palm  trees  washed  down  by 

1  In  Pentateuch  translated  12  times  as  “desert”  and  98  times  as  “wilder¬ 
ness.” 


Oasis  of  Feiran— looking  east-Water  comes  down  valley  in  center  of  picture 


The  Oasis  of  Feiran,  the  Pearl  of  Sinai  155 


the  great  flood  of  1867  and  possibly  other  floods  since  then. 
An  hour  below  our  camping-place  we  came  upon  moist 
beds  of  sand,  then  pools  of  fresh  water  among  the  straggling 
palms,  and,  finally,  the  clear  running  brook  and  denser 
vegetation  about  the  central  amphitheater  of  the  oasis 
where  once  stood  the  ancient  city  of  Feiran,  and  where  we 
pitched  our  tents.  From  this  point  onward  the  pictures 
I  took  must  help  tell  the  story.  They  can  give  but  an  in¬ 
adequate  impression  of  the  beauty  of  the  district  where  in 
every  scene  the  varying  hues  of  the  bare  red  granite  show 
through  and  above  the  green  foliage  in  every  direction. 
If  the  reader  will  study  carefully  the  four  panoramas  (21, 
22,  23  and  24),  he  will  get  a  clearer  idea  of  the  peaks  and 
mountains  surrounding  this  central  space  and  the  valleys 
opening  from  it.  I  had  counted  twelve  of  these  most 
prominent  granite  masses  before  I  noted  the  fact  that  there 
are  actually  twelve  valleys,  large  and  small,  which  bear 
separate  names;  thus,  without  making  use  of  one’s  imagina¬ 
tion,  it  is  actually  the  fact  that  there  are  ten  smaller 
valleys  centering  in  the  oasis  at  this  point,  exclusive  of  the 
Wady  Feiran  itself,  in  which  east  and  west  the  oasis  itself 
lies.  Panorama  21  looks  back  and  down  the  Wady  Feiran, 
up  which  we  had  journeyed  from  Maghareh.  In  the  extreme 
right  of  the  picture  among  the  palm  trees  are  a  number  of 
rude  stone  huts  which  are  occupied  by  the  Bedawin  for  a 
month  or  more  every  year.  Immediately  above  the  huts 
is  one  of  the  twelve  peaks  referred  to,  and  the  second  one 
is  the  mass  to  the  left  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley. 
The  next  panorama  (22),  swinging  round  the  circle  against 
the  hands  of  the  watch,  is  one  taken  at  early  morning,  look¬ 
ing  westward.  Other  rude  Bedawin  huts  lie  in  the  shadow. 
The  stream  of  water  flows  among  the  palm  trees  out  of  the 
Wady  Feiran  at  the  extreme  right  of  the  picture,  and  follows 
the  course  of  the  valley  past  the  Bedawin  huts  in  Panorama 
21  to  the  exit.  The  small  figures  to  the  left  of  the  center 
are  our  camels  and  cameleers  engaged  in  striking  our  tents. 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


i56 

Panorama  23  gives  more  of  these  bold  peaks,  and  looks 
up  Wady  Aleyat,  which  leads  to  the  base  of  Serbal,  the 
most  remote  peak  to  the  right  of  the  center  of  the  picture. 
The  Bedawin  huts  which  lie  in  the  shadow  of  Panorama  22 
are  now  opposite  to  us  and  beyond  our  camp. 

Panorama  24,  swinging  still  farther  to  the  left,  looks  east 
and  up  the  Wady  Feiran,  through  which  we  are  to  pass  on 
our  way  to  Sinai.  The  stream  of  water  which  makes  the 
oasis  lies  close  to  the  base  of  the  mountains  to  the  left  of  the 
valley,  flowing  down  among  the  trees  on  the  extreme  left- 
hand  corner  in  the  photograph. 

Panorama  30,  which  you  will  find  facing  page  160,  gives 
the  ancient  mound  from  which  the  preceding  Panoramas 
21,  23  and  24  were  taken.  This  is  a  rocky  and  isolated  hill 
rising  to  a  height  of  about  100  feet,  in  the  center  of  this 
amphitheater  which  is  called  El-Meharret,  bearing  on  its 
summit  traces  of  an  early  Christian  monastery  and  church 
which  will  be  referred  to  more  especially  in  connection 
with  the  problem  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law.  The 
amphitheater  at  its  widest  is  not  more  than  half  a  mile 
across,  and  immediately  below  this  isolated  hill  are  some 
gardens,  several  acres  in  extent,  belonging  to  the  monastery 
of  St.  Katharine  at  Sinai,  watched  over  by  a  roughly  dressed 
monk,  who  does  what  he  can  in  the  way  of  cultivation  with 
the  unskilful  Bedawin  workmen.  The  remainder  of  the 
space  is  dotted  here  and  there  with  the  turfa  trees,  and 
strewn  with  granite  boulders  brought  by  the  very  infrequent 
torrents  from  the  rugged  mountains  above.  The  surround¬ 
ing  peaks  vary  in  height  from  300  to  700  feet  above  the 
floor  of  the  oasis,  and  from  their  bases  to  their  summits  in 
every  direction  they  show  traces  of  human  handiwork  in  the 
shape  of  caves  and  rude  walls,  with  here  and  there,  as  in 
Panorama  27,  well-shaped  buildings  on  the  extreme  tops 
of  the  peaks. 

As  early  as  the  second  century  A.  D.  a  Latin  writer, 
Claudius  Ptolemaeus,  speaks  of  the  town  of  Pharan 


Water  and  Shade 
Dwellers  in  the  Oasis 


The  Oasis  of  Feiran,  the  Pearl  of  Sinai  157 


(better  spelled  Feiran),  which  soon  became  an  episcopal 
see  and  the  central  point  of  the  monastic  and  anchorite 
fraternities  of  the  peninsula.  Church  historians  tell  us 
of  this  strange  monastic  movement  which,  originating  in 
Egypt,  filled  the  mountain  valleys  of  all  Syria  and  Arabia 
with  hermits,  who  fled  from  the  temptations  and  luxury 
of  the  ancient  world  to  spend  their  remaining  days  in  soli¬ 
tude,  according  to  this  erratic  and  erroneous  conception  of 
Christianity.  Remains  of  old  monasteries  and  hermits’ 
cells  are  nowhere  more  numerous  than  here  and  on  the 
rocky  slopes  and  plateaus  on  Serbal.  Records  of  the  Coun¬ 
cil  of  Chalcedon  (451  A.  D.)  reveal  the  fact  that  the  oasis 
possessed  an  archbishop  of  its  own,  who  was,  however, 
subordinate  to  the  then  recently  founded  Patriarchate  of 
Jerusalem.  While  during  those  centuries  the  Romans 
were  nominally  masters  of  Feiran,  it  was  in  reality  under  the 
power  of  the  Saracen  princes,  because  about  a  hundred 
years  later  one  of  these  princes  went  through  the  form  of 
presenting  it  to  the  Emperor  Justinian,  who  proceeded, 
as  we  shall  see  later,  to  extend  some  help  and  protection  to 
the  wretched  monks  and  anchorites  of  Sinai.  About  the 
time  of  Justinian  these  monks  and  anchorites  embraced 
the  heretical  principles  of  the  monothelites  and  monophys- 
ites,  and  thus  came  under  the  ban  of  the  Orthodox  Synods 
and  Emperors.  Some  centuries  later  the  whole  of  this 
Greek  or  Roman  Christian  occupation  was  wiped  out  of 
existence  by  the  inroads  of  the  Muslims,  who  left  but  a 
single  monastery  standing  throughout  the  whole  peninsula, 
which  is  the  monastery  of  St.  Katharine  at  Sinai,  and  the 
real  reason  for  this  exemption,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  never 
before  been  put  into  print  (see  page  209) .  So  for  fully  1 200 
years  this  ancient  oasis,  the  Pearl  of  Sinai,  has  been  unin¬ 
habited,  unoccupied  except  by  the  roving  tribes  of  Redawin, 
who  gather  here  from  every  corner  of  the  peninsula  once 
a  year  when  the  dates  are  ripe.  During  a  period  of  thirty 
or  forty  days  they  buy  and  sell,  they  feast  and  fight,  they 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


i  z8 

kJ 

wrangle  over  the  proceeds  of  transporting  pilgrims,  the 
ownership  of  camels,  of  palm  trees,  and  of  water  rights  in 
every  spring  and  well  of  the  district.  They  give  and  take 
in  marriage,  settling  old  blood  feuds  and  making  extensive 
preparations  for  new  ones,  and,  finally,  they  are  driven  in 
desperation  from  this  garden  spot  by  the  swarms  of  gnats, 
flies  and  fierce  mosquitoes  which  are  attracted  by  the 
moisture  and  ripening  of  the  fruits  and  the  presence  of 
numberless  sheep  and  goats  and  camels. 

Glancing  farther  back  in  history  than  the  Christian  era, 
there  are  various  lines  of  evidence  to  prove  that  the  Idu- 
means,  who  are  said  to  have  rivalled  the  Tyrians  in  com¬ 
merce,  possessed  towns  about  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  and  Suez, 
and  among  them  also  the  city  of  Feiran.  In  that  case 
their  ancient  port  at  et-Tor  would  have  been  the  ancient 
as  well  as  the  modern  starting-place  for  caravans  into 
Arabia  by  way  of  Petra.  Swiftly  moving  dromedaries 
might  well  have  crossed  the  desert  via  Nakhl  during  the 
cooler  or  rainy  season,  but  larger  caravans  would  more 
naturally  take  the  route  via  Feiran.  And  the  Nabatheans,1 
who  in  later  times  (312  B.  C.  to  106  A.  D.)  seized  Petra, 
the  ancient  capital  of  the  Idumeans,  and  whose  possession 
in  the  days  of  their  greatest  prosperity  extended  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Red  Sea,  most  certainly  occupied  this 
same  site,  because  of  all  the  so-called  “  Sinaitic  inscrip¬ 
tions  ”  the  Nabathean  language  and  characters  are  the 
most  abundant.  There  is  another  of  those  incontrovertible 
facts  concerning  the  trade  routes  which  were  known  and 
used  from  the  remotest  antiquity. 

When  we  entered  the  outer  borders  of  the  oasis  in  Feb¬ 
ruary,  1909,  we  lunched  at  a  spot  shown  in  Figure  25,  and 
before  we  finished  our  rest  hour  some  of  the  wretched  in¬ 
habitants  gathered  about  us,  and  Figure  26  gives  an  idea  of 
what  they  look  like.  I  had  to  snap  them  quickly,  since  the 
small  cub  of  a  boy  quickly  took  a  dislike  to  my  camera  and 

i“J.  V.  and  P.”  Vol.  II,  p.  62. 


An  ancient  Tomb  and  Shrine 
Tombs  and  Graveyard  among  the  Palms 


The  Oasis  of  Feiran,  the  Pearl  of  Sinai  159 


was  led  away  weeping  by  his  ragged  parent.  Afterward, 
at  our  camp  an  hour  farther  on,  I  lined  up  the  cameleers 
in  front  of  the  tent  (Fig.  4),  and  made  another  study  in 
black  and  white,  with  the  green  palm  trees  and  red 
granite  behind  and  above  them. 

On  leaving  the  plain  of  el-Muharrad,  the  narrow  path 
winds  for  more  than  an  hour  among  the  dense  growth  of 
palms,  crossing  and  recrossing  the  brook.  Ten  minutes  up 
the  valley  we  came  to  two  tombs  (Figs.  27  and  28)  and  a 
graveyard,  the  personification  of  loneliness  and  neglect. 
Inside  the  lower  tomb  are  two  graves,  the  one  covered  with 
a  cheap  green  cloth  and  the  other  with  a  white  one.  Above 
the  tombs  are  rags  from  the  sick,  three-cornered  charms, 
bits  of  camel  trappings.  Outside  these  tombs  are  smeared 
or  washed  with  a  white  clay  that  must  disappear  instantly 
whenever  rain  chances  to  fall.  One  of  these  tombs  is  that 
of  Sheikh  Abu  Shebib,  the  patron  saint  of  the  district.  To 
this  sacred  spot  are  brought  people  suspected  of  crime  or 
false  swearing,  and  to  “  swear  at  the  tomb  of  Abu  Shebib  ” 
is  considered  a  proof  of  innocence  or  truthful  testimony. 

The  Peninsula  of  Sinai  is  actually  divided  into  so  many 
districts,  each  of  which  has  its  own  private  or  patron  saint, 
furnishing  an  excellent  example  of  the  state  of  affairs  in 
Palestine  at  the  beginning  of  the  period  when  the  Hebrew 
prophets  began  to  proclaim  a  God  of  heaven  and  earth 
above  all  local  deities.  We  shall  meet  another  powerful 
patron  saint  in  the  tomb  of  Nebi  Saleh  (Fig.  54). 

Beyond  the  graveyard  of  Abu  Shebib  we  passed  through 
several  dense  bays  of  palms,  where  our  loaded  camels  did 
not  find  it  easy  moving.  The  palms  fairly  crowd  each 
other  from  one  granite  wall  to  the  other,  ceasing  only 
when  the  soil  and  moisture  ends.  Panorama  29  gives  an 
idea  of  one  of  these  bays.  I  traced  the  brook  to  its  source 
where  it  oozed  up  among  the  gravel,  without  noting  any 
distinct  fountain  head,  though  such  may  well  exist  and  be 
temporarily  choked  with  sand. 


i6o 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Not  far  beyond  the  fountain  head  are  the  geological 
evidences  that  the  Oasis  of  Feiran  was  at  one  time  a  lake. 
Along  the  east  side  of  the  valley,  more  especially  in  the 
sharp  angles,  are  great  masses  of  clay,  60  to  ioo  feet  in 
height,  that  were  probably  deposited  when  the  valley  was 
closed  at  some  narrow  point  below  and  the  oasis  was  a 
lake.  These  masses  of  whitish  clay  can  be  seen  clearly  in 
Figure  31  and  also  in  the  Panorama  36.  After  the  barrier 
was  removed  the  brook  still  remained  as  a  relic  of  the  ancient 
lake,  and  its  sudden  appearance  at  the  base  of  the  red 
granite  cliffs  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  oasis,  and  its  equally 
sudden  disappearance  on  the  western  edge  eight  miles  away, 
must  have  been  a  constant  source  of  wonder  to  the  Chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel,  as  it  is  still  to  the  vivid  imagination  of  the 
modern  inhabitants  of  the  desert. 

Just  above  the  place  where  the  brook  appears  is  the  most 
extensive  collection  of  turfa  trees  of  the  district,  and  from 
which  the  monks  of  St.  Katharine  and  the  Bedawin  collect 
a  large  part  of  the  modern  manna,  which  is  gathered  from 
April  to  June,  and  afterward  sold  to  the  Russian  and  other 
pilgrims. 

Three-quarters  of  an  hour  beyond  the  turfa  trees  we 
reach  the  last  striking  feature  of  the  oasis,  a  beautiful 
natural  gateway  to  the  oasis  for  all  travelling  in  the  op¬ 
posite  direction,  that  is,  from  Sinai  to  the  oasis.  It  is 
called  el  Buwaib,  “  the  little  gate  ”  or  “  door.”  Figure 
33  shows  how  the  red  granite  walls  of  the  valley  have 
crowded  in  within  twenty  feet  of  each  other,  leaving  this 
unique  entrance  100  feet  long.  It  could  easily  be  closed 
by  massive  iron  gates.  Another  curious  feature  connected 
with  it  is  a  little  well  of  water,  not  more  than  six  feet  deep, 
among  the  pack  of  donkeys  at  the  left  of  the  gateway, 
showing  how  the  crowding  granite  cliffs  have  done  the  same 
for  the  moisture  of  the  valley  under  the  sandy  floor,  and 
thus  producing  a  perennial,  though  scanty,  water-supply 
at  this  most  unlikely  place.  My  own  riding  camel  appears 


Feiran,  showing  isolated  hill  el  Muharrad,  site  of  ancient  Monastery 


The  Oasis  of  Feiran,  the  Pearl  of  Sinai  161 

kneeling  at  the  right  and  waiting  while  I  took  this 
photo. 

The  appearance  of  the  donkeys  suggests  another  phase 
of  Bedawin  life.  So  far  as  we  could  judge,  there  were  not 
half  a  dozen  of  the  hundreds  of  huts  in  the  whole  oasis 
occupied.  But  off  in  every  direction  among  the  lonely 
valleys  are  little  clusters  of  tents  pitched  in  the  most  se¬ 
cluded  spots,  safe  from  observation  and  molestation  by  the 
passers-by  on  the  main  roads  of  the  peninsula.  Naoum 
Beg  Shucair  had  given  us  letters  of  introduction  to  the 
Sheikh  of  all  the  clans  in  Sinai,  and  his  tents  were  an  hour 
away  from  this  little  fountain  of  el  Buwaib.  And  after 
having  inquired  carefully  after  Sheikh  Musa  Bu  Naser,  we 
sent  our  letters  to  him  by  a  relative  whom  we  met  at  this 
point,  and  the  old  sheikh  visited  us  a  week  later  in  Sinai. 

I  tried  in  Egypt  to  get  some  estimate  of  the  possible 
number  of  the  palm  trees  in  the  oasis,  but  no  one  seemed 
able  to  make  even  a  guess.  I  questioned  our  cameleers, 
and  they  were  even  less  able  or  willing,  always  fearing  the 
coming  of  the  tax  collectors.  The  Egyptian  Government, 
regarding  the  extreme  poverty  of  the  Bedawin,  takes  no 
tax  from  the  oases,  but  does  require  the  loyalty  of  the 
Arabs  and  faithfulness  in  protecting  travellers  and  pilgrims 
to  Sinai.  We  tried  to  estimate  mentally  the  trees  as  we 
passed,  and  feel  sure  they  would  exceed  25,000,  without 
taking  any  note  of  those  in  the  side  valleys. 

Some  curious  reader  may  ask  just  here  why  the  Bible 
makes  no  mention  of  these  palm  trees  after  noting  the 
seventy  palm  trees  at  Elim.  The  answer  is  simple.  There 
may  not  have  been  a  single  palm  tree  growing  in  the  valley 
at  that  time ;  they  may  all  have  been  introduced  a  thousand 
or  even  two  thousand  years  after  the  Children  of  Israel 
passed  by.  The  Children  of  Israel  had  infinitely  greater 
need  of  water  and  pasturage  than  they  had  of  either  the 
shade  or  the  fruit  of  the  palms.  The  battle  of  Rephidim 
was  a  battle  for  the  oasis  and  its  water.  Among  the  first 
11 


162 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


things  that  happened  after  the  people  reached  the  “  wil¬ 
derness  of  Sinai  ”  (Gen.  19:  1),  which  here  may  well  be 
translated  the  “  oasis  of  Sinai,”  they  were  directed  to 
“  wash  their  garments,”  which  could  not  have  been  done 
then  or  now  at  any  other  point  in  Sinai.  And  when,  many 
months  later,  Moses  ground  the  golden  calf  to  powder  and 
strewed  it  upon  the  water,  it  was  upon  the  stream  that 
descended  from  or  by  the  mount  (Ex.  32:  20;  Deut.  9:  21). 
But  these  incidental  notices  of  the  flowing  stream  are  alto¬ 
gether  subsidiary  to  the  considerations  which  we  shall 
allude  to  later,  after  we  have  disposed  of,  according  to  our 
promise,  the  discussion  concerning  the  problem  of  the 
numbers  of  those  who  escaped  from  Egypt  in  the  Exodus. 


Sediment  of  ancient  Lake  in  the  Oasis 
Distant  view  of  Jebel  el  Bint 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  NUMBERS  OF  THE  CHILDREN  OF  ISRAEL 
PART  I.— THE  DIFFICULTIES 

Without  doubt  the  most  difficult  element  in  the  prob¬ 
lem  of  the  Exodus  has  been  the  question  concerning  the 
numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  who  left  Egypt  in  con¬ 
nection  with  that  great  movement.  Many  references  have 
already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  the  writers,  or  compilers, 
or  redactors  of  the  Hexateuch  in  its  present  form  had  before 
them  written  documents  so  old  and  so  revered  that  they 
did  not  even  attempt  to  harmonize  the  apparent  or  real 
variations  with  each  other.  It  is  not  at  all  inconceivable 
that  after  the  flight  of  centuries,  the  existence  of  only  one, 
or,  at  most,  very  few  copies  of  the  same  document,  the  utter 
absence  of  dictionaries  and  ten  thousand  other  volumes 
such  as  we  are  familiar  with,  that  they  should  make  not 
only  slips  in  numbers,  but  also  mistakes  in  the  meanings  of 
common  words.  These  facts  in  themselves  open  the  door 
for  a  correction  of  the  figures  of  the  Exodus  on  exactly  the 
same  basis  as  other  figures  have  been  modified  in  the  Old 
Testament  text.  Those  who  have  examined  the  original 
manuscripts  of  the  Bible,  and  have  faced  the  difficulties  of 
transmission  by  copyists  and  translators  through  a  few 
centuries  of  its  history,  will  have  little  difficulty  in  ac¬ 
cepting  emendations  proposed  and  forced  upon  us  by  in¬ 
contestable  facts  from  other  sources. 

The  impressions  of  the  writer  after  the  most  careful 
thought  on  the  problem  of  the  numbers  is  this :  to  lead  any 
number  of  people  through  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai  under  the 

163 


164 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


circumstances  of  the  Exodus  was  one  of  the  greatest  under¬ 
takings  of  human  history.  To  have  led  3,000,000  people 
was  a  physical  impossibility,  and  would  have  involved  an 
unbroken  series  of  miracles  far  beyond  the  claims  of  the 
most  ardent  supporter  of  the  “  miraculous, ”  in  the  sense 
in  which  that  word  has  been  used  and  abused.  But  the 
writers  of  the  Pentateuch  make  no  such  claims  as  this  would 
certainly  involve.  The  reduction  of  the  numbers,  for 
perfectly  justifiable  considerations,  involving  a  change  in 
a  single  word  only ,  relieves  the  situation  of  its  most  per¬ 
plexing  elements,  and  brings  the  whole  movement  well 
within  historical  limits  without  taking  an  iota  from  the 
divinely  ordered  plans. 

Exodus  1:  8-12,  14:  20-22  describes  a  state  of  affairs  in 
which  the  Israelites  are  numerous  enough  to  call  forth 
public  measures  of  oppression.  In  1:  15-21  Pharaoh  deals 
secretly  with  the  trouble,  and  the  Israelites  are  so  few  in 
number  that  their  midwives  can  be  mentioned  by  name. 
There  are  five  places  only  in  the  Hexateuch  where  the 
numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  who  left  Egypt  are  men¬ 
tioned  definitely — Exodus  12:37,  38:26;  Numbers  1:46, 
2 :  32,  26:  51.  The  first  mention  in  Exodus  is  in  connection 
with  the  Children  of  Israel  when  they  began  their  journey 
from  Rameses  to  Succoth;  the  second  mention,  in  Exodus 
38:  26,  is  in  connection  with  the  payment  of  a  half-shekel 
of  the  sanctuary  for  the  building  of  the  Tabernacle.  In 
the  first  reference  the  Children  of  Israel  are  said  to  number 
about  “  six  hundred  thousand  of  foot  that  were  men  besides 
children/’  and  in  the  second  reference  (38:  26)  the  numbers 
are  given  still  more  definitely  as  “  six  hundred  thousand  and 
three  thousand  and  fifty  men.”  In  the  book  of  Numbers 
the  figures  with  variations  are  mentioned  in  connection 
with  two  censuses,  the  one  taken  at  Sinai  in  the  first  year 
of  the  Exodus  (Num.  1)  and  the  other  (chap.  26)  taken  in 
the  fortieth  year  after  leaving  Egypt,  and  the  details  given 
are:  (1)  all  the  male  Israelites  over  twenty  years  of  age 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  165 


belonging  to  each  of  the  twelve  tribes  (a)  in  the  second  year 
of  the  Exodus  and  ( b )  in  the  fortieth  year;  (2)  all  the  first¬ 
born  male  Israelites  above  a  month  old  (chap.  3 :  43) ;  and 
(3)  all  the  males  above  a  year  old  belonging  to  the  three 
Levitical  families  ( a )  in  the  second  year  (chapter  3),  ( b )  in 
the  fortieth  year  (chapter  26) ;  (4)  all  the  male  Levites  be¬ 
tween  30  and  50  years  of  age  (chapter  4). 

The  figures  given  for  all  the  male  Israelites  over  20  years 
of  age  in  the  first  census  is  “  six  hundred  thousand  and 
three  thousand  and  five  hundred  and  fifty,”  and  “  six 
hundred  thousand  and  a  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
thirty.” 

Roughly  speaking,  however,  the  Christian  world  has 
taken  six  hundred  thousand  men,  twenty  years  old  and 
upward,  and  have  multiplied  these,  according  to  well- 
known  custom,  by  the  figure  5,  which  represents  the  num¬ 
ber  of  an  ordinary  family  in  comparison  with  the  able-bodied 
men,  and  have  reached  the  large  number  of  three  million 
persons  as  the  probable  number  of  the  Children  of  Israel 
who  went  out  of  Egypt.  These  figures  have,  in  the  course 
of  centuries,  become  so  deeply  embedded  in  art,  song 
and  history  and  in  the  religious  education  of  the  race,  that 
it  will  take  perhaps  more  than  one  generation  to  correct 
them. 

Forty  years  ago  a  certain  section  of  the  Christian  church 
was  convulsed  by  the  discussion  which  raged  concerning 
the  meaning  of  the  word  “  day  ”  in  the  book  of  Genesis. 
It  was  argued  with  a  vehemence  which  recalled  the  spirit 
of  the  Crusaders  that  it  did  mean  and  could  mean  nothing 
else  but  a  day  of  twenty-four  hours,  and  all  arguments  or 
suggestions  to  the  contrary  were  reckoned  by  some  to  have 
their  origin  in  the  bottomless  pit.  But  in  the  course  of  a 
very  few  years  this  extreme  position  was  abandoned,  and 
at  this  present  time  no  one  has  the  slightest  difficulty  in 
deciding  whether  this  little  word  means  a  day  of  twenty- 
four  hours  or  a  period  of  twelve  hours,  the  counterpart  of 


i66 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


the  night,  or  a  period  of  time  which  may  extend  back 
indefinitely  to  the  remotest  ages  of  the  earth’s  history.  In 
just  the  same  way  we  have  now  reached  the  point  where  a 
simple  and  reasonable  change  in  the  translation  of  one  word 
proves  to  be  the  key  to  unlock  a  great  series  of  difficulties 
in  connection  with  the  Exodus.  It  seems  almost  unneces¬ 
sary  to  review  the  arguments  against  the  current  conception 
of  the  difficulties  involved,  but  because  so  many  commen¬ 
tators  and  popular  writers  have  amused  and  exhausted 
themselves  in  showing  the  impossibility  of  the  numbers 
without  offering  any  reasonable  solution,  it  is  well  worth 
stating  all  the  arguments  that  have  ever  been  raised,  Bib¬ 
lical  and  extra-Biblical,  and  then  to  show,  once  for  all,  that 
the  whole  series  of  difficulties  are  founded  upon  a  palpable 
error  which  I  think  will  soon  be  laid  aside  for  ever. 

The  cities  Pithom  and  Rameses,  from  which  the  Bible 
states  (Exodus  12:37)  the  Children  of  Israel  took  their 
departure,  have  been  identified,  and  there  is  nothing  in 
their  size  which  would  justify  the  supposition  that  one- 
tenth  of  three  million  people  could  ever  have  been  employed 
on  their  construction.  The  land  of  Goshen  is  also  agreed 
upon  by  the  great  majority  of  scholars  as  identical  with  the 
stretch  of  country  now  known  as  Wady  Tumilat.  Its 
total  extent  of  arable  land  in  the  days  of  the  Exodus 
could  not  have  exceeded  80  square  miles,  and  it  is  physically 
impossible  that  three  millions  of  people  could  ever  have 
found  dwelling-places  within  this  limited  space.  It  was 
known,  moreover,  that  Egyptian  officialdom  was  developed 
to  such  an  extent  about  1500  B.  C.  that  all  the  inhabitants 
of  every  rank  and  grade  were  carefully  enrolled  and  recorded 
with  a  minuteness  and  fulness  rivalling  the  statistics  of 
any  modern  government.  Therefore  it  is  almost  incon¬ 
ceivable  that  such  a  large  number  of  people  as  three  millions 
could  have  existed  within  the  boundaries  of  Egypt  without 
having  secured  very  substantial  notice  for  some  reason  or 
other,  and  it  is  still  more  inconceivable  that  such  a  num- 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  167 


ber  of  people  could  have  departed  from  Egypt  without 
it  having  been  recorded  somewhere.  Moreover,  neither 
written  records  nor  archaeological  remains  furnish  any  indi¬ 
cation  of  such  a  wholesale  depopulation  of  this  section  of 
Egypt  at  that  period.  In  Roman  times  all  Egypt  had  only 
7,000,000  people  (Diodorus  1:31),  and  in  our  own  day, 
11,000,000. 

When  we  reach  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai  we  come  face  to 
face  with  another  series  of  difficulties  which  surpass  any¬ 
thing  referred  to.  From  unimpeachable  evidence,  all  of 
which  will  be  referred  to  later,  it  is  certain  there  has  been 
no  change  in  the  rainfall  of  the  whole  peninsula  since  5000 
years  B.  C.  Then  there  is  in  almost  every  land  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  a  distinct  and  almost  unchangeable  relation 
between  the  natural  features  and  conditions  of  the  soil 
and  climate  with  the  population  which  such  a  land  can  bear. 
There  are  many  distinct  lines  of  evidence  which  point  to 
the  fact  that  the  ancient  population  of  the  district  involved 
could  never  have  greatly  exceeded  the  population  which 
the  land  supports  at  the  present  day,  in  fact,  the  present 
population,  as  perhaps  was  the  same  in  all  preceding  ages, 
lives  perilously  near  the  starvation  point,  which  is  fixed  by 
the  scanty  water-supply  and  the  insignificant  stretches  of 
arable  land.  Now,  making  the  fair  supposition  that  the 
ancient  population  numbered  from  seven  to  ten  thousand 
people,  then  such  a  battle  as  that  at  Rephidim,  between 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land  and  six  hundred  thousand 
fighting  men,  is  simply  inconceivable,  whereas,  as  will  also 
appear  later,  the  real  figures  would  allow  of  every  phase  of 
the  conflict  claimed  by  the  Biblical  records. 

During  the  past  century  of  exploration  in  Sinai  those 
who  have  entered  the  peninsula  with  the  purpose  or  ex¬ 
pectation  of  finding  space,  water  and  other  supplies  for 
three  millions  of  people,  have  been  hampered,  baffled 
and  perplexed  by  the  physical  impossibilities  of  the  situa¬ 
tion,  whereas,  as  will  also  be  seen  later,  with  the  changed 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


1 68 

figures,  the  land  fits  the  Bible  record  as  the  key  fits  the  lock, 
and  the  difficulties  referred  to  begin  at  the  passage  of  the 
Red  Sea  and  continue  to  the  end  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan 
under  Joshua.  Robinson,  in  discussing  the  possible  cross¬ 
ing  of  some  of  the  flats  at  Suez  between  the  tides,  computes 
that  in  order  to  cross  in  the  time  allowed  they  must  have 
marched  1000  abreast  and  2000  deep,  which  is  highly  im¬ 
probable  and,  in  fact,  impossible. 

Moreover,  the  really  marvelous  elements  connected  with 
the  real  Exodus  would  need  to  be  multiplied  one  hundred¬ 
fold  if  we  were  obliged  to  provide  for  the  impossible  numbers 
involved  in  this  common  conception. 

Turning  now  to  the  Bible  itself,  we  may  speedily  prove 
that  the  great  total,  three  millions  and  more,  is  impossible. 
Males  over  twenty  years  of  age  in  any  land  form  but 
little  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  whole  population.  Thus 
(including  the  fifty-one  thousand  Levites)  the  total  in  the 
first  census  of  six  hundred  and  three  thousand,  five  hundred 
and  fifty  men  would,  of  necessity,  as  already  noted,  rep¬ 
resent  a  total  of  men,  women  and  children  considerably 
beyond  three  million,  and  this  multitude  is  represented 
as  having  spent  forty  years  in  the  wilderness.  From  what 
is  now  known  of  the  land  it  is  impossible  to  assume  that 
these  millions  could  have  wandered  far  and  wide,  and,  more¬ 
over,  this  is  not  the  representation  of  the  text,  which 
declares  that  in  certain  sections  of  the  Route  (1)  they 
camped  in  fixed  order  and  that  (2)  they  marched  together 
at  a  signal  given  by  two  trumpets.  The  number  at  the 
end  of  the  wilderness  journey  is  virtually  the  same  as  at 
the  beginning,  and  there  would  need  to  be  provision  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  already  inhabited  and  long  occupied  by 
its  own  inhabitants,  for  the  addition  of  the  greater  part  of 
this  three  millions  of  people.  Now,  all  existing  data  con¬ 
cerning  the  total  population  of  the  land  when  finally  settled 
by  Israel  and  Judah  point  to  a  population  of  about  one 
million,  and  even  this  population  represents  a  density  of 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  169 


about  150  to  the  square  mile,  which  is  nearly  twice  that  of 
Spain  and  about  the  same  as  that  of  Denmark  or  Scotland. 
Another  infelicity  reached  by  comparing  the  various  figures 
given,  with  one  another,  is  that  the  number  of  the  male 
first-born  is  22,273  (Numbers  3:43),  and  allowing  the 
number  of  female  first-born  to  be  equal,  the  total  number 
of  first-born  is  44,546,  and,  therefore,  the  total  number  of 
Israelites  being  three  millions  and  upward,  the  average 
number  of  children  of  a  family  is  about  65.  If,  as  is  prob¬ 
able,  the  first-born  of  all  the  mothers  is  meant  (compare 
Numbers  3:  12),  then,  since  the  number  of  first-born  and 
of  mothers  must  have  been  identical,  there  were  44,546 
mothers,  but,  the  number  of  women  being  approximately 
the  same  as  the  men,  the  women  over  twenty  must  also 
have  numbered  more  than  600,000,  and,  therefore,  only 
about  1  in  20  or  25  women  over  twenty  were  mothers. 

There  are  other  difficulties  along  this  same  line  when  we 
attempt  to  deal  with  the  actual  figures  on  this  greatly 
enlarged  basis.  Turning  again  to  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Exodus,  the  Bible  notes  the  fact  that  there  were  two  mid¬ 
wives  who  cared  for  the  necessities  of  the  Hebrew  mothers. 
This  very  plainly  points  to  the  real  figures,  which  cannot  be 
more  than  one-fortieth  of  the  three  millions  referred  to. 
In  the  forces  which  Pharaoh  sends  to  turn  back  the  Children 
of  Israel,  while  a  reference  is  made  (Ex.  14:  7)  in  a  general 
way  to  “  chariots  of  Egypt,”  the  definite  number  stated 
is  that  “  he  took  six  hundred  chosen  chariots,”  this  would 
be  a  force  that  could  deal  with  the  real  numbers  of  the 
Exodus,  but  would  be  totally  out  of  the  question  with  six 
hundred  thousand  fighting  men.  Reference  has  already 
been  made  to  the  battle  of  Rephidim,  where  it  is  inconceiv¬ 
able  that  six  hundred  thousand  fighting  men  could  have 
been  pitted  against  a  few  hundreds  which  the  inhabitants 
of  the  peninsula  could  have  mustered  at  any  one  spot  or 
time.  Moreover,  when  we  step  beyond  these  misinter¬ 
preted  records  of  the  Pentateuch  into  Judges  and  Samuel, 


170 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


we  pick  up  at  once  a  dozen  references  to  bands  and  armies 
of  six  hundred  men. 

When  we  come  to  Sinai,  the  dimensions  of  the  court 
around  the  tent  of  meeting  or  the  tabernacle,  we  find  it  to 
be  50  to  100  cubits,  or  80  to  160  feet.  The  whole  tenor  of 
the  narratives  would  give  us  the  impression  that  this 
court  had  been  made  large  enough  to  gather  in  the  larger 
portion  of  at  least  all  the  elderly  men.  Making  allowance 
for  the  space  occupied  by  the  brazen  altar  and  the  tent  of 
meeting,  the  court  itself  could  not  have  accommodated 
more  than  1500  to  2000  people.  At  that  same  time  every 
mention  of  the  priesthood  refers  to  Aaron  as  the  High 
Priest,  the  only  one  of  his  order,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the 
worship,  which  was  conducted  in  the  tent  of  testimony. 
The  second  order  of  the  priesthood  included  only  his  two 
sons,  Eliezer  and  Ithamar,  and  no  other  Levites  appointed 
to  the  priesthood  had  any  right  in  the  first-born  of  succes¬ 
sion  to  the  high  priesthood.  According  to  the  narrative, 
these  three  priests  ministered  to  the  needs  of  the  whole 
congregation,  and  among  the  Levitical  clans  who  served 
in  the  court  of  the  tabernacle  at  least  two  of  them  had  only 
three  members  each.  Thirty  Levites  would  be  a  fair 
estimate,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  of  all  those  admitted  to 
the  third  order  who  set  up  and  took  down  the  tabernacle 
all  through  the  wilderness.  Now  this  proportion  of  priests 
and  Levites  would  be  sufficient  for  the  real  numbers  of  the 
Exodus,  but  physically  and  absolutely  unequal  to  the  needs 
of  three  million. 

When  we  approach  the  question  of  miracles  as  recorded 
in  the  narratives,  we  must  in  all  fairness  agree  that  there  is 
nothing  in  the  letter  or  tone  of  the  narratives  themselves 
which  justify  us  in  concluding  that  the  provision  of  water 
(as  at  Rephidim)  and  quails  (as  at  Kibroth-Hat-taaweh) 
were  on  any  such  scale  as  would  supply  the  needs  of  a  thirsty 
and  hungry  multitude  equal  to  the  combined  inhabitants 
of  four  such  cities  as  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  Boston  and 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  171 

Baltimore.  At  the  interview  between  Hobab,  the  father- 
in-law  of  Moses,  and  at  the  time  of  the  census,  reference 
is  made  to  the  existence  of  the  twelve  princes  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel  who  were  at  all  times  in  contact  with  and 
assisted  Moses.  When  the  question  arose  of  appointing 
other  officers  to  assist  in  the  care  of  the  people  and  also  to 
take  the  census  of  the  people,  reference  is  made  to  the  heads 
of  tens  and  fifties  and  hundreds  and  thousands.  Now  it  is 
a  fair  and  reasonable  inference  that  if  the  number  of  people 
involved  had  reached  into  the  tens  of  thousands,  hundreds 
of  thousands,  and  even  millions,  as  we  understand  those 
figures,  there  should  have  been  a  further  extension  of  the 
officers  who  should  in  some  way  be  responsible  for  these 
tens  of  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands,  whereas  the 
record  itself  stops  at  thousands.  The  reader  who  wishes 
the  Bible  clue  to  the  solution  of  all  these  difficulties  may 
simply  turn  in  his  revised  Bible  to  the  first  chapter  of  the 
book  of  Numbers  in  the  sixteenth  verse,  and  note  that  in 
the  margin  the  word  “  thousands  ”  is  also  translated  “  fam¬ 
ilies  ”  of  Israel.  Why  the  revisers  were  unwilling  to  make 
this  same  change  in  a  hundred  other  places  in  the  book  of 
Numbers  is  a  story  that  has  yet  to  be  told.  Had  they  been 
willing  to  do  so,  or  had  the  Christian  world  been  given  the 
same  information  and  suggestion  as  they  have  already  been 
given  concerning  the  use  of  the  word  “  day  ”  in  its  manifold 
meanings,  we  would  not  to-day  be  troubled  with  the  end¬ 
less  and  useless  discussions  to  wffiich  so  many  references 
have  already  been  made. 

These  in  outline  constitute  a  cumulative  and  unanswer¬ 
able  line  of  arguments  which  make  it  impossible  for  us  to 
any  longer  interpret  the  figures  of  the  Exodus  according  to 
the  popular  and  mistaken  conception  of  the  past  centuries, 
and  we  can  now  turn  with  special  pleasure  to  the  simple 
solution  of  the  greater  part  of  these  difficulties. 

If  this  were  a  volume  in  which  we  were  answering  the 
more  intricate  and  involved  criticisms  of  those  who  base 


172 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


their  arguments  upon  the  infinitesimal  division  of  ancient 
documents,  we  might  place  them  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma. 
The  argument,  as  will  be  unfolded  later,  is  that  a  flat  mis¬ 
take  has  been  made  in  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew  word 
“  alaf,”  which  is  rendered  in  our  English  Bible  “  thou¬ 
sands  .  ’ 9  If  it  is  argued  that  the  passages  in  which  it  occurred 
are  from  the  oldest  or  J.  E.  combination  of  documents, 
then  we  answer  that  we  claim  the  original  meaning  to 
be  that  of  “  clan,”  “  house  ”  or  “  family.”  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  claimed  that  these  figures  belong  to  the 
P.  document,  then  we  claim  that  the  error  was  made  by 
the  author  of  that  document  and  has  been  perpetuated  to 
the  present  day.  None  of  the  figures  involved  are  found  in 
the  D.  document,  but,  to  my  mind,  the  solution  is  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  question  of  documents,  in  that  it  goes  back 
to  the  fundamental  uses  of  language.  If  it  should  be  fur¬ 
ther  objected  that  the  revised  meaning  of  this  word  in¬ 
volves  difficulties  in  other  sections  of  the  Bible,  and  does 
not  solve  all  the  problems  involved,  I  answer  that  it  is, 
without  a  proviso,  the  real  key  to  the  numerical  difficulties 
of  the  Hexateuch,  and  will,  like  the  word  “  day  ”  in  Genesis, 
elsewhere  be  given  its  proper  meaning  and  dimensions.  If 
we  have  found  a  solution  to  one  hundred  of  a  thousand 
difficult  problems,  or  a  key  that  will  open  one  hundred 
doors  in  a  hitherto  unconquered  city,  it  would  be  folly  to 
throw  away  such  a  key  because  it  will  not  open  every  re¬ 
maining  door. 

PART  II.— THE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  DIFFICULTIES 

The  Hebrew  word  alaf ,  translated  “  thousands,”  is 
found  in  the  Hexateuch  one  hundred  and  nineteen  times, 
and  a  careful  examination  of  every  instance  reveals  the 
fact  that  in  at  least  forty  places,  without  a  shade  of  doubt, 
it  ought  to  be  translated  not  thousands,  but  “  clans  ”  or 
“  families,”  where  family  is  used  in  the  larger  sense  of  the 
word.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  therefore,  to  note 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  173 


that  in  Numbers  1:16  the  revisers  have  given  the  right 
translation  in  the  margin,  and  every  reason  that  could  be 
urged  for  the  optional  translation  at  this  point  can  be  urged 
with  greater  force  for  the  same  use  of  the  word  in  connection 
with  all  the  census  figures  of  the  Children  of  Israel. 

Again,  in  Judges  6:15,  this  word  alaf  is  used  as  one  of 
the  subdivisions  of  a  tribe,  where  Gideon  says  that  “  his 
family  (Hebrew,  ‘  thousands  ’)  is  the  poorest  in  Manasseh.” 
Then,  in  1  Samuel  10:  19,  Samuel  says  to  the  Children  of 
Israel,  “  now  present  yourselves  before  Jehovah  by  your 
tribes  and  by  your  thousands  ”;  so  Samuel  “  brought  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin  near  by  their  families  and  the  family  of 
the  Matrites  was  taken,”  where  family  is  plainly  a  synonym 
of  “  thousands  ”  or  “  clan.”  In  1  Samuel  23:  23  Saul  in 
pursuing  David  to  kill  him  says,  “  I  will  search  him  out 
among  all  the  thousands  (margin,  ‘  families  ’)  of  Israel.” 
And  once  more  in  the  famous  Messianic  prophecy  of  Micah 
5:1,  “  but  thou  Bethlehem  Ephrata  which  are  little  to 
be  among  the  thousands  (margin,  ‘families’)  of  Judah.” 

Here,  then,  are  four  clear  instances  outside  of  the  Hexa- 
teuch  wdiich  point  unmistakably  to  the  Bible  meaning  of 
the  word  ala f  as  understood  and  made  use  of  by  the  writers 
of  that  day.  These  also  point  back  to  the  undeniable  fact 
that  this  double  meaning  was  in  common  use  at  the  time 
these  original  manuscripts  were  written.  There  is  no  good 
reason  then  why  the  other  meaning  of  the  word  “  families  ” 
or  “clans”  should  not  be  used  to  solve  these  difficulties  in 
Exodus  and  Numbers,  when  to  translate  it  as  meaning 
tens  of  thousands  results  in  such  insuperable  difficulties. 

A  careful  re-reading  of  the  Hexateuch  will  make  clear 
to  any  reasonable  mind  that  tribes  and  families  were  the 
important  units  and  not  simply  members,  and  the  same  is 
true  until  the  present  hour  among  the  Arabs  of  the  desert. 
The  great  tribes  are  often  named  as  “  sons  of  the  rock  ” 
or  “  sons  of  Saad  ”  or  “  sons  of  Sud,”  where  the  proper 
name  may  be  a  natural  feature  of  the  land  in  which  they 


174 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


dwell,  the  name  of  some  great  ancestor  or  some  quality 
which  the  tribe  glories  in.  The  tribes  are  then  divided 
into  many  clans,  and  most  frequently  they  are  named  from 
some  hero  whose  descendants  within  the  tribe  are  always 
spoken  of  as  “  children  of  Saad,”  or  whatever  the  name 
of  their  great  ancestor  may  be.  In  Arab  warfare  no  great 
importance  is  attached  to  the  loss  of  a  single  member  from 
these  various  families  or  clans  which  make  up  the  great 
tribe,  but  when,  by  any  unusual  occurrence,  any  one  of 
these  families  or  clans  is  wiped  out,  it  is  reckoned  a  great 
calamity.  Blood  feuds  almost  always  exist  between  great 
tribes,  but  not  infrequently  the  various  clans  of  a  tribe  are 
separated  from  each  other  temporarily,  or  permanently,  by 
reason  of  bloodshed.  Such  divisions  are  not  unknown  in 
European  and  western  countries ;  the  vendetta  in  Italy  and 
the  feuds  in  Kentucky  are  cases  in  point.  Therefore  the 
claim  is  now  made  with  all  confidence  that  the  root  of  all 
these  numerical  difficulties  in  connection  with  the  Exodus 
lies  in  the  fact  that  compilers  and  redacteurs  and  translators 
have  failed  to  note  the  original  meaning  of  the  word  “  alaf ,” 
and  by  translating  every  instance  uniformly  with  the  Eng¬ 
lish  word  “  thousands  ”  have  landed  us  in  endless  difficulties. 

Much  light  has  been  thrown  upon  this  problem  by  the 
usage  of  the  greatest  living  Semitic  language,  that  is,  the 
Arabic.  In  all  Arabic  lexicons  and  grammars  every 
derived  form,  whether  verb,  noun  or  adjective,  is  referred 
back  to  a  triliteral  root,  which,  as  far  as  the  dictionaries  and 
grammars  are  concerned,  is  always  the  third  person  singu¬ 
lar,  past  tense, — he  struck,  he  wrote  and  so  forth;  there  is 
a  discussion  among  the  grammarians  themselves  as  to 
whether  this  particular  form  of  verb,  or  another  participle 
called  the  musdar ,  is  the  absolute  root,  but  there  is  no 
question  as  to  the  fact  that  the  verb  and  not  the  noun  is 
regarded  as  the  original  root  form.  In  Arabic  exactly 
the  same  word,  elf  (thousand)  and  alaf  (thousands),  is 
used,  and  when  we  wish  to  consult  any  Arabic  dictionary 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  175 


concerning  the  meaning  or  usage  of  this  word,  we  look  up 
the  triliteral  root,  a-la-fa,  and  find  that  it  means,  first 
of  all,  “to  keep  or  cleave  to  a  place  or  thing  the  next 
derivative  is  “  to  become  familiar  (sociable)  with,,,  that  is, 
“  allied  to.”  Then  follows  the  idea  of  a  uniting  or  putting 
together  two  things  and  of  several  parts  of  anything,  as, 
for  example,  the  ideas  or  parts  in  the  composition  of  books, 
and  ultimately  the  putting  of  many  things  into  such  a  state 
that  one  name  may  be  applicable  to  them,  whether  some 
of  the  parts  have  a  relation  to  others  by  precedence  or 
sequence,  or  not.  At  this  stage  the  word  elf  or  alaf  was 
used  to  designate  a  clan  or  family,  and  its  hundred  deri¬ 
vations  are  to  this  day  used  for  a  state  of  union  or  alli¬ 
ance  or  congregation.  It  is  this  meaning  of  the  word 
in  the  Hebrew  that  is  used  in  Numbers  1:4,  “every  one 
head  of  his  father’s  house,”  and  1 :  16,  “  heads  of  the 
thousands  of  Israel,”  and  1  Samuel  10:  19,  “by  your  tribes 
and  by  your  thousands,”  and  the  best  English  equivalent 
is  the  word  “  clan,”  because  in  both  Hebrew  and  Arabic 
the  meaning  is  sometimes  the  larger  and  sometimes 
the  smaller  division  of  the  tribe.  When  in  Arabic  the 
word  elf  was  applied  specifically  to  number,  it  meant 
originally  a  certain  number,  a  well-known  number,  a 
certain  round  number,  but  it  cannot  be  too  insistently 
emphasized  that  in  its  original  application  to  numbers 
it  had  no  real  connection  with  the  definite  number  that 
we  now  know  as  tens  of  hundreds,  and  in  later  times,  when 
specifically  it  meant  tens  of  hundreds,  this  second  meaning 
marched  side  by  side  with  the  other  meaning  of  clan  or 
family.  Both  in  Hebrew  and  in  Arabic  there  is  not  only 
a  numerical  value  to  the  larger  numbers,  but  also  a  rhe¬ 
torical,  philosophical  and  theological  meaning.  An  instance 
of  this  is  seen  in  Genesis  24:  60,  where  the  brothers  of  Re¬ 
becca  said  unto  her,  “  our  sister  be  thou  the  mother  of 
thousands  of  millions,”  according  to  the  Authorized 
Version,  but  which  in  the  Revised  Version  has  been  trans- 


176 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


lated  “  thousands  of  tens  of  thousands/’  and  up  to  this 
present  hour  in  the  living  Arabic  language  there  exists  the 
same  confusion  among  Moslem  and  Christian  writers  in 
the  use  of  this  word  translated  tens  of  thousands. 

Another  fact  to  be  borne  in  mind  is  that  in  the  oldest 
Hebrew  writing  known,  the  Siloam  inscription  dating 
from  the  days  of  Hezekiah,  the  numbers  are  written  in  full 
in  words.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Moabite  stone,  and  we 
know  of  no  other  writing  or  inscription  to  the  contrary. 
While  we  may  not  dogmatically  decide  that  figures  or 
letters  were  not  used  numerically,  the  whole  weight  of 
evidence  is  in  favor  of  all  Old  Testament  numbers  having 
been  written  out  in  full  as  is  the  case  in  all  Bible  transla¬ 
tions,  figures  alone  are  never  employed.  Had  it  been 
otherwise,  a  part  of  the  strength  of  our  argument  would 
have  been  placed  in  jeopardy. 

Turning  again  to  the  Scriptures,  we  find  that  all  Israel 
is  everywhere  reckoned  as  being  made  up  of  the  twelve 
tribes.  Now  there  is  abundant  evidence  also  that  the 
tribes  were  divided  into  smaller  subdivisions,  which  in 
many  instances  are  spoken  of  as  families.  There  is,  how¬ 
ever,  an  objection  to  our  use  of  the  word  “  family  ”  in  this 
discussion,  unless  we  understand  clearly  that  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  the  word  “  family  ”  is  used  for  larger  or  smaller  groups 
connected  by  blood  and  marriage,  from  the  family  in  its 
narrowest  sense,  that  is,  a  man  with  his  wife,  or  wives,  and 
children,  and  sometimes  his  mother — to  the  widest  aggregate 
of  kinsfolk  between  whom  relationship  is  traced;  so  that 
the  word  “  family  ”  frequently  is  used  for  all  the  larger 
divisions  running  through  the  clan,  the  tribe,  the  nation, 
and  even  the  human  race.  There  is  also  the  further  ob¬ 
jection  to  the  use  of  the  word  “  family  ”  instead  of  clan; 
the  fact  that  in  our  most  modern  usage  it  is  apt  to  suggest 
the  family  in  its  narrowest  sense,  that  is,  the  father,  mother 
and  children  of  one  household,  therefore  I  prefer  to  make 
use  of  the  word  “  clan  ”  in  translating  the  word  thousand, 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  177 


and  we  have  abundant  authority  for  this  particular  use. 
For  example,  Numbers  3:17  mentions  the  three  sons  of 
Levi:  Gershon,  Kohath  and  Merari.  Gershon’s  sons  are 
then  mentioned  as  Libni  and  Shemei.  Then  in  verse  21 
the  family  of  the  Libnites  is  spoken  of,  and  the  family  of 
the  Shemei tes,  and  this  is  exactly  the  meaning  of  the  word 
clan  which  I  have  preferred.  In  just  the  same  way  Ko- 
hath’s  four  sons  are  mentioned,  and  Merari’s  two  sons, 
each  of  whom  gives  his  name  to  a  clan  or  family. 

The  number  of  tribes  was  fixed  at  twelve  and  remained 
there  throughout  their  history.  When  Joseph’s  two  chil¬ 
dren,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  were  recognized  as  separate 
tribes,  the  number  of  twelve  was  again  reached  by  omitting 
the  tribe  of  Levi.  Among  the  reasons  for  this  and  the  jus¬ 
tification  for  setting  the  Levites  apart,  as  the  priests  and 
the  religious  division  of  the  Children  of  Israel,  is  the  fact 
that  Moses  was  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and  that  his  descendants 
were  thus  given  a  special  function;  although  in  order  to 
account  for  the  larger  numbers  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  it  has 
also  been  suggested  that  this  tribe  was  largely  recruited 
from  the  other  tribes  by  those  who  devoted  themselves 
to  these  peculiarly  religious  functions.  The  real  crux, 
therefore,  of  the  problem  of  the  numbers  centers  in  the  two 
census  lists  which  are  found  in  the  first  and  twenty-sixth 
chapters  of  the  book  of  Numbers.  They  stand  as  follows:1 

Table  “A” 

Num.  1  Num.  xxvi 


Reuben . 46,500  43,73° 

Simeon . 59, 300  22,200 

Gad . 45,650  40,500 

Judah . 74,600  76,500 

Issachar . 54, 400  64,300 

Zebulun . 5  7, 400  60,500 

Ephraim . 40,500  M.  52,700 

Manasseh . 32,200  E.  32,500 

Benjamin . 35, 400  45, 600 

Dan . 62,700  64,400 

Asher . 41,500  53, 400 

Naphtali . 53 ,400  45 ,400 


1  “P.  R.  S.”  p.  209. 

12 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


178 

This  is  the  list  as  it  stands  in  the  Biblical  record,  and  the 
only  difference  between  the  first  chapter  and  the  twenty- 
sixth,  as  far  as  the  order  is  concerned,  is  that  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh  have  changed  places.  It  may  be  that  only  the 
names  are  reversed  and  not  the  numbers,  seeing  that  they 
agree  more  nearly  as  they  stand.  Between  the  two  lists 
is  a  space  of  between  30  to  40  years,  because  the  first  census 
was  made  at  Sinai  and  the  second  on  the  plains  of  Moab. 
The  difference  between  the  two  lists  on  general  principles 
may  easily  be  explained  by  the  changes  incident  upon 
fighting  and  intermarrying.  There  is  nothing  on  the  face 
of  the  lists  calling  for  special  explanation,  but  in  order  to 
make  clear  what  we  are  seeking  for  we  will  rearrange  the 
lists  according  to  their  size  numerically 


Table  “B” 


Manasseh . 

22,200 

Simeon. 

Simeon . 

.  59,300 

64,300 

Issachar. 

Benjamin . 

.  35,4oo 

45,4oo 

Naphtali. 

Naphtali . 

.  53,4oo 

53,4oo 

Asher. 

Issachar . 

.  54,4oo 

64,400 

Dan. 

Zebulun . 

.  57,4oo 

32,500 

Ephraim. 

Ephraim . 

.  40,500 

40,500 

Gad. 

Asher . 

.  41,500 

60,500 

Zebulun. 

Reuben . 

.  46,500 

76,500 

Judah. 

Judah . 

.  74,600 

45,600 

Benjamin. 

Gad . 

.  45,650 

52,700 

Manasseh. 

Dan . 

43,730 

Reuben. 

603,550  601,730 


Note  first  that  there  is  not  a  single  round  thousand  in 
either  list,  note  also  that  there  is  not  a  single  hundred, 
eight  hundred  or  nine  hundred,  but  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  numbers  fall  on  four  hundred  or  five  hundred. 
Seeing  that  the  number  of  tribes  has  been  fixed,  it  is 
easily  conceivable  that  while  the  number  of  clans  would 
also  be  known,  even  though  in  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
wilderness  journey  some  of  those  clans  might  have  been 
wiped  out,  and  others,  for  various  reasons,  subdivided, 
the  number  of  individuals  connected  with  those  clans 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  179 


would,  of  necessity,  be  the  most  difficult  and  uncertain 
item  of  all.  This  fact  is  easily  paralleled  by  the  con¬ 
ditions  existing  in  this  part  of  the  world  to-day  not  only 
among  the  tribes  of  the  desert,  but  even  among  the  city 
dwellers.  For  example,  in  the  town  of  Zahleh  the  pres¬ 
ent  Lebanon  Government  claims  taxes  from  2100  able- 
bodied  men;  1400  of  these,  or  two-thirds,  are  assigned  to 
the  Greek  Catholic  sect  and  the  remaining  700  are  divided 
among  the  Maronites,  the  Greek  Orthodox  and  the  Prot¬ 
estants.  These  numbers  are  again  subdivided  by  the 
families  who  make  up  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  Among 
the  Greek  Catholics  are  three  large  families  who  claim 
more  than  a  thousand  of  these  fourteen  hundred  units, 
and  they  jealously  guard  their  fixed  proportion  even  though 
each  unit  involves  a  certain  amount  of  taxes  which  they 
willingly  pay  independent  of  the  fact  as  to  whether  their 
men  are  present  or  absent.  This  they  do  because  their 
rights  in  government  circles  at  the  time  of  elections  and 
distribution  of  offices  and  honors  depend  upon  their  number. 
Now,  the  point  to  which  I  draw  your  attention  in  this 
modern  instance,  which  could  be  duplicated  in  any  of  the 
Arab  tribes,  is  this:  that  the  proportion  belonging  to  the 
various  sects  remains  unchanged  and  the  numbers  which 
they  claim  are  fixed,  while  it  would  be  impossible  at  any 
time  to  find  out  the  real  number  of  able-bodied  men  in  the 
town  or  the  number  of  those  actually  present. 

Glancing  again  at  the  table  B  and  noting  the  columns 
of  thousands  begin  in  the  one  list  at  32  and  end  at  62,  and 
on  the  earlier  other  list  at  22  and  end  at  43  in  connection 
with  the  even  hundreds,  there  is  apparently  some  cause, 
whatever  it  may  be,  affecting  the  hundreds  in  each  list. 
Taking  the  digits  from  both  lists  and  arranging  them  in 
their  natural  order  we  have  the  following  results: 


i8o 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Table  “C” 

4  5 

4  5 

4  5 

4  5 

4567 
234567 
none  234567  none 

digits  0123456789 

Now  the  argument  which  comes  in  at  this  point  is  a 
mathematical  one,  and  to  minds  trained  in  the  more  recon¬ 
dite  use  of  figures  there  is  in  this  arrangement  irresistible 
evidence  that  the  hundreds  in  these  census  lists  have  an 
origin  entirely  independent  of  the  thousands.  “The  prob¬ 
ability  of  such  a  distribution  occurring  by  chance  has 
more  than  a  thousand  to  one  against  it.”  For  example, 
if  we  should  take  the  directory  of  the  city  of  New  York  or 
the  city  of  London  and  choose  the  names  of  the  twelve 
largest  families  in  that  directory,  if  then  we  should  proceed 
to  count  carefully  the  number  of  individuals  which  could 
be  grouped  in  these  twelve  families,  it  is  mathematically 
inconceivable  that  we  should  reach  a  series  of  figures  in 
which  a  single  hundred  or  the  eight  hundred  or  the  nine 
hundred  should  not  appear,  and  the  reason  would  be  that 
in  this  example  the  hundreds  are  not  independent  of  the 
thousands. 

Proceeding,  therefore,  with  our  claims,  that  the  word 
alaf  has  two  meanings,  “  thousand,”  and  “  clan  ”  or 
family,  then  the  list  might  be  read  that  Manasseh  was 
made  up  of  thirty-two  clans  of  two  hundred  able-bodied 
men,  and  Simeon  of  59  clans  of  300  able-bodied  men  and  so 
through  the  list.  In  order  to  test  this  supposition,  let  us 
again  rearrange  the  tribes  and  their  figures  according  to  the 
order  given  in  the  Bible.  If  the  thousands  have  no  con¬ 
nection  with  the  hundreds  other  than  the  mere  numerical 
connection,  as  supposed  in  the  example  from  the  city  dic¬ 
tionaries,  then  the  supposition  will  be  nullified  by  the  ab¬ 
surd  results  reached  in  dividing  the  number  of  able-bodied 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  181 


men  by  the  number  of  clans,  which,  in  turn,  has  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  number  of  tents  and  the  total  number  of 
people  going  out  in  the  Exodus. 


Table  “D” 

Census  i.  Census  a. 


Clans. 

Numbers. 

Per  clan. 

Clans. 

Numbers. 

Per  clan. 

Reuben . 

. 46 

500 

9 

43 

730 

17 

Simeon . 

. 59 

300 

5 

22 

200 

9 

Gad . . 

. 45 

650 

14 

40 

500 

12 

Judah . 

. 74 

600 

8 

76 

500 

7 

Issachar . 

. 54 

400 

7 

64 

300 

5 

Zebulun . . 

. 57 

400 

7 

60 

500 

8 

Ephraim . 

. 40 

500 

12 

32 

500 

16 

Manasseh . 

. 32 

200 

6 

52 

700 

13 

Benjamin . 

. 35 

400 

11 

45 

600 

13 

Dan . 

. 62 

700 

11 

64 

400 

6 

Asher . 

. 4i 

500 

12 

53 

400 

8 

Naphtali . 

. 53 

400 

8 

45 

400 

9 

598 

5550 

9.3 

596 

5730 

9.6 

We  have  here  added  the  thousands  separately,  and  in 
the  first  census  there  are  598  and  in  the  second  596.  The 
able-bodied  men,  then,  adding  the  hundreds  alone,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  first  census  are  5550,  and  according  to  the  second 
census,  5730.  It  will  be  noticed  also  that  in  the  column 
giving  the  average  of  able-bodied  men  in  each  section  the 
smallest  number  is  5  and  the  greatest  number  is  17,  and 
that  the  average  in  the  first  census  is  gT\  and  the  average 
in  the  second  census  is  gT%. 

It  can  easily  be  shown  from  various  Egyptian  inscrip¬ 
tions  about  the  time  of  the  Exodus,  and  especially  in  the 
lists  of  mining  expeditions  to  the  district  about  Sinai,  that 
the  division  of  workmen  and  officers  into  groups  of  ten  was 
a  custom  that  the  Children  of  Israel  would  easily  have 
learned  in  Egypt  and  carried  with  them  into  the  wilder¬ 
ness.  In  a  long  list  of  a  hundred  foremen  of  miners  every 
tenth  man  is  called  mer  sa  (“P.  R.  S.,”  p.  116),  and  the  nine 
men  after  him  were  his  following.  This  same  general 
division  is  one  that  also  is  found  in  military  affairs  all 
through  human  history.  Supposing,  then,  that  while 


182 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


the  Children  of  Israel  were  still  in  bondage  they  had  been 
divided  into  sections  of  ten  able-bodied  men  by  their 
own  Hebrew  overseers,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  they 
would  have  carried  this  system  with  them  into  the  wilder¬ 
ness.  In  a  distinctly  military  system  the  decimals  are 
kept  up  artificially,  but  in  a  family  organization,  such  as 
the  Children  of  Israel  were,  the  variation  to  be  noted  after 
a  lapse  of  thirty-eight  or  forty  years  would  easily  parallel 
those  to  be  noted  in  the  table  “  D,”  where  the  (heads)  of 
the  clans  ranged  from  5  to  17.1 

Testing  the  figures  again  in  “  B,”  the  only  three  tribes 
which  seem  to  have  more  than  the  ordinary  variations 
between  the  first  and  second  census  are  Simeon,  Manasseh 
and  Dan.  And  here  the  Bible  record  comes  clearly  to 
our  aid.  It  was  a  man  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon  (Numbers 
25 :  14)  whose  sin  caused  the  plague,  and  it  was  the  Simeon- 
ites  who  suffered  most,  reducing  the  men  from  300  to  200 
and  wiping  out  37  of  the  clans.  In  Manasseh  there  is  a 
rapid  rise  from  32  to  52  clans  and  200  to  700  men,  and  in 
Dan  a  fall  from  700  to  400.  This  might  be  explained  on 
the  basis  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  daughters  in  Dan 
married  into  Manasseh. 

Now,  a  careful  examination  of  the  present  Biblical  figures 
reveals  another  curious  fact,  that  at  some  time  in  the  later 
history,  after  the  error  was  made  in  the  meaning  of  alaf, 
other  redactors  attempted  to  bring  the  numbers  into 
harmony  on  this  impossible  basis  and  made  matters  worse. 
In  Exodus  12:37,  apparently  the  oldest  and  most  accurate 
account  of  the  Exodus,  it  speaks  of  the  round  numbers  of 
600  clans  (thousands)  “  that  were  men  besides  children  ” 
leaving  Egypt  on  foot.  When  these  were  more  carefully 
counted  at  Sinai  they  proved  to  be  598  clans  or  groups  and 

1  Petrie’s  referring  these  figures  to  “tents”  and  “individuals”  is  a  curious 
slip,  because  the  Bible  (Ex.  12:37;  Num.  1:18,  45;  2:  32,  etc.)  refers  to 
men  of  war,  able-bodied  men,  and  this  is  exactly  in  accord  with  Oriental 
usages  of  all  ages  (Matt.  15:  38),  and  up  to  the  present  hour  men  are  listed 
and  numbered,  but  women  and  children  never. 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  183 


with  5550  men  over  twenty  years  of  age.  The  “  six- 
hundred  thousand  and  three  thousand  ”  of  Numbers  1 :  46 
and  the  “  six  hundred  thousand  and  a  thousand  ”  of 
Numbers  26:  51  have  been  reached  by  the  overzealous  hand 
of  the  redactor,  with  the  curious  result  that  at  the  end  of 
the  Exodus  the  Children  of  Israel  were  601,730  persons, 
which  is  less  than  they  were  at  the  beginning,  603,550,  the 
reverse  of  what  was  probably  the  fact.  But  when  the 
clans  are  counted  separately,  as  in  table  “  D,”  we  actually 
find  that  while  there  were  598  clans  with  5550  men  of  war 
in  the  beginning,  there  were  more  at  the  end,  5730,  though 
the  clans  had  been  reduced  to  596. 

Petrie  (“R.  S.,”  p.  213)  views  these  totals  (5550  and  5730) 
as  the  probable  numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  and  end  of  the  Exodus,  but,  as  before  referred  to,  he 
does  not  seem  to  have  noted  that  these  Bible  figures  are 
males  over  twenty  years  of  age ,  the  failure  to  do  so  pre¬ 
venting  him  from  reconciling  the  census  of  the  Levites  as 
found  in  Numbers  3  and  4,  whereas  the  numbers  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  must  have  been  more  than  ten  times  as 
many,  as  will  appear  from  the  following  simple  calculation : 
Taking  the  first  census  (Numbers  1:24)  as  5550  men, 
“  from  twenty  years  old  and  upward  all  that  were  able  to 
go  forth  to  war,”  we  have  several  lines  of  argument  possible. 
We  must  agree  that  there  were  at  least  an  equal  number  of 
able-bodied  women,  making  11,100  persons.  Taking  well- 
known  European  statistics,  which  could  not  possibly  be  in 
advance  of  the  well-known  productiveness  of  the  Hebrew 
households,  we  may  easily  claim  50,000  persons  as  a  mini¬ 
mum  estimate  of  the  Children  of  Israel  exclusive  of  Levites, 
who  were  not  included  in  this  census.  But  even  this  figure 
(50,000)  must  be  considerably  enlarged  for  another  reason. 
It  is  distinctly  stated  in  Numbers  1 :  20  that  the  figures  in¬ 
clude  “  every  male  from  twenty  years  old  and  upward,  all 
that  were  able  to  go  forth  to  war,”  and  this  specific  limita¬ 
tion  is  reiterated  in  connection  with  every  one  of  the  twelve 


184 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


tribes  numbered,  and  again  with  the  totals  in  verse  45. 
The  emphasis  is  laid  upon  those  who  were  “  able  to  go 
forth  to  war.”  I  have  taken  the  trouble  to  make  a  careful 
comparison  of  the  relation  of  the  proportion  which  exists 
between  those  available  for  military  duty  and  the  total 
population  of  seven  of  the  modern  European  nations. 
These  modern  governments  divide  their  able-bodied  men 
into  their  standing  armies  and  reserves,  which  two  divis¬ 
ions  make  up  their  total  war  strength.  In  addition  to  this 
they  take  careful  note  of  all  the  men  that  remain  who  are 
available  for  duty,  although  unorganized.  This  examina¬ 
tion  reveals  the  fact  that  Austria  claims  one  in  every  six 
of  her  total  population  as  “  able  to  go  forth  to  war,”  Ger¬ 
many  one  in  ten,  France  one  in  twelve,  Russia  one  in  six¬ 
teen,  Italy  one  in  eighteen  and  Great  Britain,  which  relies 
more  largely  on  its  fleet,  one  in  twenty- two.  The  average 
of  these  seven  nations  “  able  to  go  forth  to  war  ”  is  one  in 
every  fourteen  of  the  total  population.  Now  I  believe 
that  human  nature  and  social  conditions  did  not  vary 
much  throughout  the  ages,  and  that  it  is  a  perfectly  justi¬ 
fiable  step  to  make  use  of  this  modern  average  in  dealing 
with  the  Bible  figures  concerning  the  Children  of  Israel; 
therefore,  taking  the  5550  able-bodied  men,  which  represents 
the  sum  of  the  hundreds  in  table  “  D,”  and  multiplying 
these  figures  by  14,  as  obtained  above,  we  get  at  once  at 
least  77,700,  which,  increased  by  the  Levites,  gives  us  a 
total  of  almost  100,000  souls;  and  this  number  I  am  con¬ 
vinced,  from  a  large  number  of  subsidiary  lines  of  argument, 
will  be  found  substantially  correct.  These  minor  argu¬ 
ments  will  be  referred  to  in  many  places  in  the  chapters 
which  concern  in  detail  the  route  of  the  Exodus.  It  may 
be  remarked  here,  even  though  the  special  problem  of  the 
Levites  lies  outside  the  scope  of  this  book,  that  this  ap¬ 
parently  larger  number  assigned  to  the  Levites  may  be  ex¬ 
plained  as  constituting  the  main  support  of  Moses  after  his 
dealings  with  the  rebellious  and  troublesome  clans  of  all  the 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  185 


other  tribes.  It  has  been  remarked  that  the  tribe  of  Levi 
was  the  tribe  of  Moses  himself,  and  that  naturally  the 
members  of  this  tribe  would  support  Moses  in  every  time 
of  difficulty,  just  as  the  clans  of  any  successful  Highland 
chieftain  would  rally  round  his  banner.  Moreover,  as  has 
been  suggested  in  various  connections,  if  intermarriage 
between  tribes  was  allowed  in  Egypt  and  during  the  Exo¬ 
dus,  it  is  certain  that  the  trend  of  all  possible  marriage 
alliances  would  be  toward  the  strongest  section  of  the 
Children  of  Israel.  It  has  been  further  suggested  that  the 
function  of  the  Levites  and  their  relations  to  the  people 
were  to  some  extent  a  matter  of  choice,  and  this  again  would 
foster  the  same  movement  toward  amalgamating  with  the 
largest  and  strongest  division  of  the  people. 

If  this  reasoning  is  sound,  we  have  thereby  completely 
disposed  of  the  difficulty  which  confronts  us  in  the  third 
chapter  of  Numbers,  where  the  sum  of  the  Levites  (“  all 
the  males  from  a  month  old  and  upward  ”)  were  twenty 
and  two  thousand,  and  where  the  details  concerning  the 
various  clans  prohibit  our  translating  the  word  alaf  by 
“  clans  ”  instead  of  “  thousands.”  It  also  opens  the  door  for 
the  satisfactory  solution  of  what  was  a  difficulty  in  Numbers 
3 :  43,  where  it  is  said  that  “  all  the  first-born  males  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  number  of  names,  from  a  month  old  and  upward 
of  those  that  were  numbered  of  them  (the  Children  of 
Israel)  were  twenty  and  two  thousand  and  three  score  and 
thirteen.”  This  estimate  of  all  the  first-born  males  in 
Israel  I  believe  to  be  a  much  older  item  of  statistics  than 
the  cumbrous  and  garbled  attempt  to  harmonize  the  num¬ 
ber  of  Levites  with  this  figure.1 

Commentators  have  found  it  impossible  to  harmonize 


1  Numbers  3:  22  says  the  families  of  the  Gershonites  were  7500,  the 
families  of  the  Kohathites  were  8600  and  the  families  of  Merari  were  6200, 
which  equal  22,300,  but  the  39th  verse  gives  the  total  of  all  these  males 
“from  a  month  old  and  upward”  as  twenty  and  two  thousand,  which  sug¬ 
gests  and  confirms  the  fact  that  these  figures  have  at  some  time  been  tam¬ 
pered  with  and  left  in  this  confused  condition. 


i86 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


these  figures  of  the  first-born  in  Israel  with  the  mistaken 
three  million  estimate  for  the  total  population  (see  p.  168). 
There  is  just  as  great  a  difficulty  in  harmonizing  it  with  the 
estimates  of  those  (see  Petrie,  “R.  S.,”  p.  211)  who  take  the 
numbers  in  table  “D”  as  the  totals  for  the  Children  of  Israel. 
But  a  little  thought  will  clearly  show  that  they  are  in  com¬ 
plete  harmony  with  our  revised  estimate,  which  makes  the 
number  of  the  Children  of  Israel  somewhere  near  100,000 
souls.  If  we  take  our  modern  estimate  of  the  average  mod¬ 
ern  family  as  5,  we  instantly  get  at  least  20,000  first-born. 
If  it  be  objected  that  this  calculation  leaves  no  place  for 
childless  families  or  families  in  which  there  were  no  male 
children,  I  would  answer  by  pointing  out  at  least  two  other 
considerations  which  have  not  been  noted  in  any  of  the 
discussions  that  I  have  ever  read  on  this  subject,  and  they 
are  these:  (1)  I  believe  that  the  figure  5  for  the  average 
Hebrew  family  would  be  too  small,  and  if  in  objection  to 
this  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  larger  average  would  re¬ 
duce  the  numbers  of  the  first-born,  I  would  point  out  that 
the  Bible  plainly  declares  in  many  instances  the  existence 
of  more  than  one  wife  and  mother  in  the  household,  and 
that  the  law  of  the  first-born  would  apply  to  every  mother 
who  bore  a  child,  this  fact  making  plainly  for  the  possible 
accuracy  of  the  figures  involved,  but  (2)  this  census  in¬ 
cludes  “  all  the  first-born  males  from  the  Children  of  Israel 
from  a  month  old  and  upward;”  therefore,  in  every  family 
where  there  are  male  children  there  was  one  first-born,  but 
in  many  instances  there  must  have  been  two  first-born 
and  possibly  three,  because  there  was  not  only  the  first-born 
child,  but  the  father  and  grandfather  each  may  have  been 
the  first-born  in  his  own  father’s  household,  and  the  cen¬ 
sus  plainly  includes  all  the  first-born.  Mathematically, 
taking  the  average  family  at  5  (which  means  father,  mother 
and  three  children),  we  are  perfectly  justified  in  saying  that 
at  least  one  out  of  every  five  families  contained  two  first¬ 
born,  that  is,  the  father  and  the  son,  and  this  gives  every 


The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  187 


needed  possibility  for  harmonizing  22,273  first-born  with 
the  corrected  estimate  of  100,000  as  the  number  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  who  came  out  of  Egypt. 

It  might  also  be  remarked  here  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
may  find  a  difficulty  in  letting  go  of  the  exaggerated  num¬ 
bers  which  have  played  a  part  in  our  mental  conceptions 
since  our  childhood,  to  recall  another  fact,  that  it  was  not 
the  great  numbers  in  the  Anabasis  (10,000  Greeks),  who 
marched  up  from  the  coast  to  the  sea,  nor  the  Moslem 
Hegira  (departure)  (150  persons),  nor  the  great  number  on 
board  the  Mayflower  (102  souls),  which  made  these  move¬ 
ments  famous  and  momentous  in  history,  but  the  principles, 
moral  and  spiritual,  which  led  and  sustained  these  soldiers 
and  pilgrims  through  their  dangers  and  vicissitudes;  so 
also  is  it  true  in  the  matter  of  the  Exodus,  its  importance 
for  our  race  lies  not  in  its  numbers,  great  or  small,  but  in 
the  message  of  God’s  truth  which  they  carried  in  their 
breasts. 

Summing  up,  then,  (1)  linguistically  there  can  be  no 
escape  from  the  twofold  meaning  which  the  word  “elf”  or 
“  alaf”  bears  in  the  Hebrew  and  cognate  Semitic  languages; 
(2)  the  Bible  itself  confirms  and  makes  use  of  both  these 
meanings,  and  all  existing  manuscripts  and  modern  ver¬ 
sions  make  no  use  of  either  figures  or  numerical  letters  in 
the  transmission  of  these  numbers;  (3)  the  numbers  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  were  somewhere  about  100,000  souls,  and 
these  figures  will  be  found  to  fit  in  satisfactorily  with  the 
conditions  in  Egypt  before  the  Exodus,  with  the  conditions 
and  possibilities  through  the  Exodus  itself,  and  supply  all 
the  requirements  for  the  growth  and  extension  of  the  king¬ 
dom  after  the  Exodus;  (4)  the  greatest  Biblical  difficulty 
concerning  the  number  of  the  Levites  and  the  first-born  of 
Israel  receives  a  satisfactory  solution,  and  finally  the  door 
is  opened  and  the  clue  is  given  for  dealing  with  a  series  of 
difficulties  involved  with  the  improbable  numbers  in  the 
book  of  Judges  and  the  historical  books  of  the  monarchy. 


i88 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


To  give  a  single  instance,  in  i  Samuel  6:  19  it  is  recorded 
that  Jehovah  “smote  all  the  men  of  Bethshemesh  because 
they  had  looked  into  the  ark  of  Jehovah;  he  smote  of  the 
people  seventy  men  and  fifty  thousand  men,  and  the  people 
mourned.”  Neither  Jewish  history  nor  archaeological 
research  have  ever  given  the  slightest  credence  to  the  sup¬ 
position  involved  that  a  large  city  ever  existed  in  the  terri¬ 
tory  or  at  the  location  known  as  Bethshemesh,  but  the 
whole  difficulty  vanishes  when  we  read  that  70  men  were 
killed,  which  resulted  in  the  wiping  out  of  fifty  clans  or 
families.  The  most  natural  inference  in  the  world  is  that 
the  men,  and  not  the  women  and  the  children,  were  con¬ 
cerned  in  this  act  of  disobedience  which  resulted  in  con¬ 
dign  punishment. 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  LAW 

Having  now  reached  the  new  and  more  reasonable 
figure  (100,000  souls)  as  the  number  of  those  who  escaped 
in  the  Exodus,  we  have  an  entirely  new  element  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  this  ancient  problem.  In  this  ancient  district 
of  Horeb  or  Sinai  there  is,  roughly  speaking,  a  triangle  com¬ 
posed  of  three  groups  of  barren,  rugged  and  majestic  peaks, 
among  which,  without  doubt,  took  place  those  wonderful 
events  connected  with  the  transformation  of  the  Chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel  from  the  bond-servants  of  the  Egyptian 
Pharaohs  to  the  people  of  Israel  through  the  giving  of  the 
Law.  The  first  group  on  the  northwestern  corner  of  the 
triangle  reaches  its  greatest  height  in  Jebel  Serbal  (6731 
feet),  a  sublime  peak  fairly  overhanging  the  Oasis  of  Feiran. 
Twenty  miles  away  by  air  line,  east  by  south,  is  a  second 
group  which  contains  two  famous  peaks,  Jebel  Musa  (7362 
feet),  and  about  three  miles  south  of  it,  Jebel  Katharine 
(8538  feet),  the  highest  point  in  the  peninsula.  A  little 
further  to  the  southwest  rises  the  third  and  last  group  of 
this  irregular  triangle,  where  towers  Jebel  Um-Shomar, 
the  “  watch  ”  or  guard,  which  is  over  8000  feet  high. 
This  latter  peak  is  the  one  pointed  out  and  seen  by  all 
travellers  from  India  and  the  East  who  pass  up  through  the 
Red  Sea  to  Suez. 

There  is  no  tradition  connected  with  Um-Shomar  nor 
with  Jebel  Katharine;  the  rival  traditional  sites  are  con¬ 
nected  with  Jebel  Serbal  and  Jebel  Musa.  A  number  of 
ancient  writers  and  traditions  claim  the  distinction  for 
Serbal;  other  more  modern  writers,  and  most  especially 

189 


190  From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 

Robinson,  have  chosen  the  vicinity  of  Jebel  Musa  as  the 
camping-place  and  the  scene  of  the  giving  of  the  Law. 

I  would  again  remind  the  reader  of  the  impossibility  and 
the  futility  of  attempting  to  fix  upon  absolute  sites  for 
any  of  the  Bible  scenes  in  either  the  Old  or  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment;  I  would  remind  him  here  that  these  rival  sites  for 
the  Mountain  of  the  Law  are  at  most  only  twenty  miles 
apart,  and  even  if  scholars  can  never  agree  concerning 
details,  it  surely  should  not  militate  against  the  general 
consensus  and  agreement  in  regard  to  the  whole  district, 
and  more  especially  since,  as  in  the  case  of  Rephidim,  we 
may  easily  point  out  more  than  one  possible  location  for 
the  events  in  question.  I  would  also  remind  the  reader  of 
this  curious  tendency  in  human  nature  to  select  the  highest 
or  most  conspicuous  or  the  grandest  spot  as  the  fittest  for 
the  events  involved,  but,  as  we  well  know  concerning  other 
great  events  in  peace  and  war,  the  supreme  struggle  does 
not  always  take  place  at  the  most  convenient  or  the  most 
artistic  spot.  I  am  convinced  also  by  a  careful  re-reading 
of  the  Bible  records  on  the  spot,  that  we  are  not  obliged  to 
identify  locally  the  main  camp,  much  less  all  the  camps 
of  the  Children  of  Israel  with  the  scene  of  the  theophanies 
on  the  mountain  top.  Past  identifications  have  all  been 
hampered  by  the  supposition  that  all  the  tents  and  all  the 
people  stood  in  front  of  the  mountain. 

Now,  where  there  are  expressions  which  might  seem, 
taken  literally,  to  imply  or  require  this  view,  I  believe  we 
must  deal  with  them  on  exactly  the  same  basis  as  we  deal 
with  such  expressions  in  any  modern  language,  remember¬ 
ing  that  the  figurative  and  imaginative  element  is  much 
larger  and  much  more  powerful  than  in  any  of  our  modern 
languages.  We  say  of  a  recent  great  event  that  all  London, 
all  England,  and  all  the  world  watched  the  great  Coronation 
pageant  as  it  moved  from  the  palace  through  the  city  of 
London  and  back  to  the  palace  again.  Perhaps  less  than 
a  million  of  London  people  saw  the  sight,  and  the  other  four 


El  Buwaib — Eastern  entrance  to  the  Oasis  of  Feiran 


The  Problem  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law  19 1 


millions  were  going  about  their  myriad  duties  as  usual. 
And  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  other  districts 
of  Great  Britain,  much  less  of  the  world,  were  depopulated 
on  that  particular  day. 

Therefore  we  are  not  obliged  of  necessity  to  seek  for  any 
location  where  millions,  much  less  even  a  hundred  thousand 
souls  agreed  upon,  could  pitch  their  tents  and  collect  their 
cattle.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  locations  both  about 
Serbal  and  Sinai  where  every  human  being  of  these  cor¬ 
rected  figures  could  assemble  and  stand  with  comfort  in 
full  view  of  the  top  of  either  Serbal  or  Sinai. 

Moreover,  many  of  the  discussions  seem  to  have  no  con¬ 
ception  of  the  spaces  required  for  the  ordinary  Arab  en¬ 
campments  with  their  flocks.  I  have  seen  such  encamp¬ 
ments  where  a  hundred  tents  or  houses  were  stretched 
across  a  plain  for  a  distance  of  two  or  even  three  miles, 
and  the  reason  is  a  simple  one:  many  of  these  modern 
Arab  tribes,  which  contain,  say,  100  to  200  human  souls, 
will  have  fifty  or  a  hundred  times  as  many  sheep  and 
goats  and  camels  and  other  animals;  therefore,  to  avoid 
the  strife  between  the  herdsmen,  which  is  as  old  as 
the  days  of  Abraham  and  Lot,  they  must  of  necessity 
spread  out  their  tents  in  order  to  provide  space  for 
the  flocks  that  make  up  the  larger  part  of  the  whole  en¬ 
campment.  Therefore  it  is  childish  and  really  absurd  to 
think  of  the  tents  of  the  Children  of  Israel  as  placed  in 
regular  lines  and  close  together  in  the  fashion  of  a  camp 
meeting  or  the  parade-ground  of  some  modern  militia. 
I  was  led  there  on  the  spot,  through  the  reading  of  the 
records,  combined  with  my  knowledge  of  larger  Arab  life 
elsewhere,  together  with  the  actual  customs  and  habits  of 
the  Bedawin  of  Sinai  to-day,  to  a  view  which  I  think  will 
go  far  to  solve  the  difficulties  urged  against  both  traditional 
locations  and  the  camp  of  the  theophanies,  and  to  reconcile 
what  is  really  valuable  in  both.  No  proper  notice  has  been 
taken  hitherto  of  certain  necessities  of  all  Arab  encampments 


192 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


and  of  the  large  wide  spaces  which  exist  between  the  oasis 
and  the  traditional  Sinai,  and  which  I  shall  point  out  very 
clearly  in  the  photographs  which  accompany  this  chapter. 

I  pointed  out  in  connection  with  the  photograph  of  el 
Buwaib  the  donkeys  which  had  come  two,  three,  or  even 
four  hours  from  little  clusters  of  Arab  tents  in  the  lonely 
valleys  away  from  the  main  roads,  and  if  such  a  body  of 
people  as  the  Children  of  Israel  (reckoning  them  only  at 
100,000  instead  of  3,000,000)  with  their  flocks  should  enter 
the  Wady  Feiran  at  the  present  day  they  would  easily 
fill  the  oasis  with  their  tents  and  extend  for  a  distance  of 
ten  miles  in  other  directions,  into  every  valley  or  level 
space  where  they  could  pitch  their  tents. 

Again,  if,  as  I  have  repeated  so  often,  the  water  fixes  the 
route  and  the  camping-places,  then,  of  all  the  camping- 
places  between  Egypt  and  the  Promised  Land,  the  two 
most  important  are  at  Sinai,  where  they  spent  eleven 
months,  and  Kadesh  Barnea,  about  which  they  remained 
for  thirty-seven  years,  and  of  absolute  necessity  these  must 
have  contained  abundance  of  water.  The  Arabs,  even  in 
the  desert,  will  always  choose  a  valley  or  gulley  in  which  to 
camp;  the  higher  stretches  of  every  desert  are  swept  by 
powerful  winds,  and  the  valley,  no  matter  how  small, 
gives  shade  at  morning  and  evening,  and  in  all  but  the  most 
arid  deserts  hopes  of  water  by  digging  in  the  sand.  There¬ 
fore,  with  the  desert  and  the  Oasis  of  Feiran  before  our 
eyes  with  its  abundance  of  sparkling  water,  which  in  those 
days  may  have  fed  rich  stretches  of  pasturage  instead  of 
the  waving  palm  trees,  its  towering  cliffs  and  valleys 
giving  shade  at  almost  every  hour  of  the  day,  it  is  simply 
inconceivable  that  Moses,  great  leader,  great  law-giver, 
great  general,  great  ruler,  should  have  led  his  host  of  hungry 
people  with  their  thirsty  flocks  through  this  marvelous 
oasis  and  beyond  it  to  the  colder,  higher  plains  above. 

Another  important  fact  that  has  been  completely  lost 
sight  of  is  that  of  elevation.  The  vale  of  Elim  is  close  to 


Serbal  with  its  jagged  ridge 
Serbal — seen  from  Wady  Selaf 


' 


The  Problem  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law  193 


the  sea-level.  The  floor  of  the  valley  at  Maghareh,  as  we 
pointed  out,  is  about  1000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the 
central  section  of  the  Oasis  at  Feiran  a  little  over  2000  feet. 
Between  this  spot  and  the  head  of  the  water  is  another  rise 
of  300  feet,  and  the  southern  entrance  of  this  matchless 
oasis  at  el  Buwaib  is  2450  feet.  A  swift  messenger  might 
reach  Sinai  in  five  or  six  hours,  though  for  our  slow-plod¬ 
ding  baggage  camels,  winding  through  longer  and  easier 
routes,  it  occupied  parts  of  two  days;  but  whether  by  the 
longer  or  shorter  route,  it  involves  the  overcoming  of  an¬ 
other  3000  feet  0 f  elevation.  The  point  at  which  we  crossed 
the  water-shed,  some  five  hours  beyond  the  oasis,  marked 
4000  feet  on  our  barometers.  We  dropped  a  little  and 
camped  at  3700  feet,  and  the  next  day  climbed  through  one 
of  the  most  sublime  defiles  of  all  the  world  over  the  pass  of 
4900  feet  to  the  other  traditional  camping-place,  which  is 
5000  feet  above  the  sea,  an  absolutely  arid  desert  plain, 
with  the  nearest  reasonable  water-supply  at  least  a  day’s 
journey  to  the  west.  Again  I  repeat,  that  as  far  as  the 
main  camping-place  of  the  Children  of  Israel  in  that  desert 
is  concerned,  it  is  inconceivable  that  Moses  could  ever  have 
led  the  Children  of  Israel  and  their  flocks  away  from  the 
Oasis  of  Feiran.  It  is  not,  however,  inconceivable  that 
portions  of  the  great  encampment  might  have  occupied 
every  level  space  between  the  oasis  and  the  traditional 
Sinai,  even  though  their  flocks  were  almost  daily  led  back 
to  the  abundant  waters  of  the  oasis.  Moreover,  when  one 
passes  beyond  the  limits  of  the  oasis  to  the  water-shed 
between  Serbal  and  Sinai  and  looks  upward  into  that 
matchless  grandeur  of  those  rugged  peaks  of  granite,  rosy 
beneath  the  rising  or  setting  sun,  one  will  be  willing  from 
overwhelming  sentiment  to  hope  that  amid  their  overmas¬ 
tering  grandeur  we  might  locate  the  tabernacle  and  the 
theophanies,  even  though  the  encampment  with  the  flocks 
must  for  ever  remain,  through  the  necessities  of  nature, 
in  the  oasis  below.  Therefore,  my  suggested  solution  of 
13 


194 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


this  problem  proceeds  upon  the  separation  of  the  main 
camp  or  water-supply  from  the  location  of  the  Mountain 
of  the  Law. 

It  is  true  that  in  God’s  providence  the  Jewish  people, 
even  though  possessing  in  their  Scriptures  all  the  facts 
known  to  us  to-day  concerning  the  Exodus  and  the  country 
of  the  Exodus,  did  not  make  pilgrimages  to  Sinai  or  regard 
as  sacred  any  location  but  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  Hebrew 
legislation  of  later  centuries  was  opposed  to  pilgrimages  to 
any  spot  except  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  It  remained, 
therefore,  for  the  Christian  Church  to  search  out  and  locate 
these  ancient  events.  Hence,  when  we  come  to  compare 
the  various  claims  of  Serbal  and  Sinai,  we  must  confess 
that  the  weight  of  traditional  evidence  is  decidedly  in 
favor  of  Serbal.  And  the  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  Abso¬ 
lutely  apart  from  every  denominational  difference  of  Cop¬ 
tic,  Greek  and  Latin  Christianity,  as  also  Moslem  prefer¬ 
ence  or  tradition,  are  the  incontrovertible  facts  of  the 
oasis  and  its  waters  over  which  the  Children  of  Israel 
waged  their  very  first  battle.  Then  there  is  the  almost 
as  important  item  of  the  elevation,  and  finally  of  the  neces¬ 
sary  spaces  for  such  an  encampment  as  that  of  the  Chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel  may  have  been,  all  of  which  are  in  favor 
of  the  location  at  the  Oasis  of  Feiran.  Here  must  have 
been  the  main  camp.  Then  in  Christian  times  the  same 
natural  necessity  (which  is  the  existence  of  water)  also 
fixed  the  location  of  the  city  of  Pharan  at  the  oasis.  In 
the  absence  of  any  absolute  knowledge  of  the  location 
of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law,  and  in  the  rivalry  that  pre¬ 
vailed  in  those  days  as  in  our  own  concerning  sacred  sites 
at  Jerusalem,  they  were  led  by  a  natural  desire  to  have 
the  mountain  near  at  hand  to  fix  upon  Serbal  near  by  their 
city,  and  this  easily  explains  the  cells  and  ruins  of  monas¬ 
teries  about  its  base  and  on  its  summit.  Hence  for  cen¬ 
turies  controversy  has  continued  concerning  the  two  local¬ 
ities.  Serbal  easily  holds  its  own  as  the  place  for  the  en- 


Wide  space  an  hour  beyond  el  Buwaib 


. 


The  Problem  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law  195 


campment,  but  fails  in  providing  a  reasonable  location  for 
the  great  assemblage  before  the  Mountain  of  the  Law. 
Sinai  lacks  all  the  necessities  of  the  encampment,  but 
provides  an  ideal  Mountain  of  the  Law. 

Dr.  Robinson’s  suggestion  and  theory  concerning  the 
Plain  of  er  Rahah  is  based  upon  three  considerations: 
first,  a  prominent  mountain  summit  overlooking  the  place 
where  the  people  stood;  second,  a  space  sufficiently  ad¬ 
jacent  to  the  mountain  for  so  large  a  multitude  to  stand 
and  behold  the  panorama  at  the  summit;  and  third,  the 
relation  between  the  space  where  the  people  stood  and 
the  base  of  the  mountain  should  have  been  such  that 
they  could  approach  and  stand  at  “  the  nether  part  of  the 
mountain,”  and,  therefore,  that  they  could  touch  the 
mountain,  which  necessitated  its  delimitation  lest  they 
should  approach. 

The  first  specification  absolutely  rules  out  the  traditional 
peak  Jebel  Musa,  even  though  it  is  reverenced  by  the  Greek 
Orthodox  Christians  and  the  Moslems.  But  it  fits  admir¬ 
ably  the  peak  Ras  es  Sufsafeh  as  seen  in  the  Figures  38,  42, 
43  and  44. 

The  second  requirement  (a  great  space  sufficiently  large 
and  adjacent  to  the  mountain  for  so  large  a  multitude)  is 
fulfilled  beyond  a  peradventure.  Even  granting  for  the 
moment  the  impossible  numbers  which  Dr.  Robinson  had 
in  mind,  there  is  still  abundant  room  for  such  a  multi¬ 
tude  where  they  could  stand  and  behold  the  panorama 
at  the  summit.  There  is  no  such  open  space  in  close  prox¬ 
imity  to  Serbal. 

The  third  specification  of  a  mountain  so  steep  that  people 
could  approach  its  nether  part  and,  if  necessary  touch  it, 
is  one  that  is  fulfilled  to  the  letter  (see  Fig.  42)  in  the  simple 
grandeur  of  the  peak  es  Sufsafeh,  at  the  sloping  base  of  the 
Plain  of  er  Rahah. 

Thus  I  believe  we  are  able  to  give  due  weight  to  the 
natural  features  of  the  situation  and  of  the  apparently 


196 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


conflicting  traditions,  each  right  in  one  way  and  wrong  in 
another.  The  oasis  and  Serbal  claim  the  camp,  but  this 
inner  shrine  of  Sinai  is  the  Mountain  of  the  Law. 

After  I  had  worked  out  in  my  own  mind  this  line  of  rea¬ 
soning  practically  in  favor  of  the  oasis  as  the  location  of  the 
main  camp  and  Sinai  for  the  giving  of  the  Law,  I  noticed 
what  I  had  possibly  read  but  completely  forgotten,  that  Dr. 
Robinson,  choosing  the  route  from  Suez  by  way  of  Serabit, 
had  never  seen,  much  less  passed  through,  the  Oasis  of 
Feiran.  Had  he  done  so,  judging  from  his  shrewd,  keen, 
careful  observation  of  facts,  guided  by  the  linguistic  and 
other  help  of  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  he  would  perhaps  have  reached 
almost  the  same  conclusion  herein  advanced.  Because 
after  having  examined  and  having  measured  the  Plain  of 
er  Rahah,  with  his  meager  and  imperfect  knowledge  of  the 
archaeological  treasures  then  partially  known,  but  wholly 
undeciphered  and  unexplained,  he  did  add  this  interesting 
and  comprehensive  remark:  “  The  examination  of  this 
afternoon  convinces  us  that  here  (in  the  Plain  of  er  Rahah) 
was  space  enough  to  satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  the 
Scriptural  narrative  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  assembling 
of  the  congregation  and  receiving  the  Law.  Here  one  can 
see  the  fitness  of  the  injunction  to  set  bounds  around  the 
mount  that  neither  man  nor  beast  might  approach  too  near. 
The  encampment  before  the  mount,  as  has  been  before  sug¬ 
gested,  might  not  improbably  include  only  the  headquarters 
of  Moses  with  the  elders  and  a  portion  of  the  people,  while 
the  remainder  with  their  flocks  were  scattered  among  the 
adjacent  valleys.” 

I  am  ready  to  add  that  this  view  not  only  accords  with 
all  the  facts  concerned,  but  also  with  every  requirement  of 
sentiment  and  religion  and  custom  as  practiced  in  a  thou¬ 
sand  examples  of  holy  places,  tombs  and  shrines  and  ancient 
temples,  that  after  locating  the  main  camp  at  Feiran  and 
the  adjacent  valleys,  Moses  and  the  elders  moved  onward 
and  upward  more  than  3000  feet  into  this  matchless  amphi- 


The  Problem  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Law  197 


theater  of  primeval  granite,  and  that  there  the  tabernacle 
was  conceived  and  erected,  and  that  there  all  the  impressive 
ceremonies,  human  and  divine,  took  place,  amid  surround¬ 
ings  well  worthy  of  Hebrew  law  and  of  all  that  has  come  to 
pass  since  in  Hebrew  Christian  history. 

Turning  now  to  the  photographs,  which  in  the  light  of 
all  that  has  been  said  will  add  other  elements  of  confirma¬ 
tion  to  this  discussion  of  the  problem,  a  glance  at  Panorama 
23,  taken  from  the  high  central  mound  of  the  oasis  called 
el  Muharrad,  gives  us  a  valley  which  leads  in  twenty 
minutes  to  the  base  of  Serbal,  a  part  of  whose  summit 
appears  as  the  most  remote  peak  to  the  right  and  center 
of  the  picture.  The  highest  peak  of  Serbal  appears  as  a 
little  tip  in  the  dip  between  two  dark  masses  on  the  right 
of  the  picture,  but  one  cannot  approach  so  as  to  touch  it 
as  at  Sinai. 

Panorama  30  gives  almost  the  same  view  from  a  point 
much  farther  back  in  order  to  show  this  isolated  hill 
(el  Muharrad)  on  which  anciently  stood,  in  all  probability, 
the  most  important  monastic  establishment  of  the  ancient 
city,  looking  up  the  same  valley  and  conveying  a  still 
larger  view  of  the  peaks  of  Serbal  as  seen  in  the  extreme 
right  of  this  picture.  Now  a  ride  or  a  walk  of  less  than  an 
hour  through  the  dense  growth  of  the  oasis  carries  one  be¬ 
yond  the  fountain  head  into  the  large  sloping  plain  which 
stretches  gently  upward  to  the  gateway  of  Buwaib. 

Figure  34  gives  the  first  full  view  of  the  rugged  multi- 
peaked  summit  of  Serbal,  and  Figure  35  gives  another  and 
more  distant  view  from  a  point  beyond  the  Wady  Selaf. 
Here  is  camping-ground  for  perhaps  half  of  the  corrected 
estimate  of  100,000  souls. 

Panorama  36  gives  still  another  view  of  this  same  wide 
space,  but  Serbal  has  vanished  from  view  behind  the  mass 
of  granite  at  the  left.  The  other  multi-peaked  mountain 
of  the  center  of  the  picture  is  Jebel  el  Benat,  not  more  than 
five  miles  away  on  the  opposite  or  southern  side  of  the  oasis. 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


198 

Panorama  37  is  another  large  open  space  an  hour  or  so 
beyond  el  Buwaib,  in  which  other  large  numbers  of  tent 
dwellers  could  find  space  for  their  tents  and  their  flocks,  and 
all  within  reasonable  distance  of  the  abundant  water  of  the 
oasis. 

Figures  39  and  40  give  forward  and  backward  views  in 
the  magnificent  gateway  through  Nagb  el  Hawa  to  the 
Plain  of  er  Rahah,  and  Panorama  38,  a  wonderful  view  of 
the  plain  itself,  with  Ras  es  Sufsafeh  in  the  center  and  the 
Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  nestling  in  the  deep  notch  at 
its  left-hand  base. 

This,  then,  in  my  judgment,  is  a  solution  of  the  problem. 
The  main  camp  of  the  Israelites  and  the  main  water-supply 
were  at  the  oasis.  Smaller  sections  were  accommodated  in 
the  valleys  and  level  spaces  for  ten  or  fifteen  miles  beyond, 
and  the  great  natural  temple,  in  which  stood  the  tabernacle, 
and  where  occurred  the  giving  of  the  Law,  might  most 
appropriately  have  been  this  sublime,  awe-inspiring  loca¬ 
tion  in  the  very  heart  of  Sinai. 


Backward  Glimpse  from  the  top  of  Nagb  el  Hawa 
Another  bit  farther  up 


CHAPTER  XVI 


FROM  THE  OASIS  OF  FEIRAN  TO  THE  MONASTERY  OF 

ST.  KATHARINE  AT  SINAI 

I  have  described  in  a  general  way  the  route  from  Feiran 
to  Sinai  and  as  far  as  el  Buwaib  in  detail.  From  this 
point  there  are  two  routes  to  the  Monastery;  the  longer 
one  follows  the  great  trunk  valley  of  Feiran  and  Wady  esh 
Sheikh  and  is  much  the  easier  for  heavily  laden  animals. 
Those  who  choose  the  shorter  route  leave  the  Wady  esh 
Sheikh  about  fifteen  minutes  beyond  el  Buwaib,  and, 
keeping  to  the  right,  enter  Wady  Selaf,  through  which 
they  wind  for  fully  six  hours  before  they  reach  the  open 
plateau  in  front  of  Nagb  el  Hawa.  We  took  still  another 
route  by  following  Wady  esh  Sheikh  for  two  hours  to  its 
junction  with  Wady  es  Sahab,  and  then  through  that  valley 
for  another  three  hours  to  the  same  plateau  in  front  of 
Nagb  el  Hawa.  This  is  not  the  usual  route,  and  we  were 
a  little  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  our  cameleers  preferred 
it,  but  later  on  we  suspected  that  some  of  them  did  not 
want  to  pass  Wady  er  Rimm,  up  which  was  the  encamp¬ 
ment  of  the  great  sheikh,  who  later  visited  us  at  Sinai. 
Shortly  after  entering  Wady  es  Sahab  we  came  to  a  broad, 
sloping  plain  thickly  studded  with  shrubs,  but  without  trees. 
The  general  features  of  the  country  are  low  hills  lying  be¬ 
tween  the  Serbal  mass  and  the  cliffs  of  Sinai  toward  which 
we  journeyed  slowly  upward.  Our  camp  in  Feiran  was  at 
about  2100  feet.  At  the  entrance  of  Wady  es  Sahab  our 
barometers  registered  a  little  over  3000  feet,  and  when  we 
crossed  the  watershed  at  3.45  p.  m.,  over  3900  feet.  Be¬ 
yond  this  we  crossed  three  or  four  rough  sections  by  narrow 

199 


200 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


passes  until  we  reached  a  belt  or  tract  of  gravel  and  sand 
which  sinks  down  toward  the  cliffs  of  Wady  Selaf,  which 
here  joins  our  route  in  front  of  Sinai.  We  pitched  our 
tents  on  this  gravelly  slope  at  an  elevation  of  3800  feet 
without  a  drop  of  water,  other  than  what  we  carried,  for 
either  man  or  beast. 

We  were  in  camp  early,  and  the  memory  of  those  two 
hours  of  the  closing  day,  the  sun  setting  immediately 
behind  the  ragged  granite  peaks  of  Serbal  in  the  west  and 
the  after-glow  on  the  red  granite  walls  of  Sinai  in  the  east, 
produced  an  unbroken  series  of  indescribable  effects  beau¬ 
tiful  and  sublime  beyond  all  power  of  human  language. 

This  look  upward  into  Sinai  must  be  one  of  the  great 
views  of  the  earth.  The  everlasting  granite  cliffs  rise 
abrupt  and  rugged  from  their  very  base  in  the  valley  for 
800  to  1000  feet,  the  sublime  outworks  of  this  citadel  of 
creation.  Seen  under  the  brilliant  rays  of  the  westering 
sun,  they  rolled  like  great  rosy  billows  far  up  into  the  crys¬ 
talline  blue  of  the  vault  of  heaven;  while  at  early  morning 
they  were  black  and  frowning  to  a  degree  that  was  awful,  as 
if  forbidding  all  approach  to  some  great  sanctuary  within. 

That  night  our  camp  was  pleasantly  disturbed  by  the 
arrival  of  two  of  the  coast  guard  cameleers,  who  came  up 
from  Tur  on  the  Red  Sea  in  search  of  smugglers  who  bring 
opium  into  Egypt  and  carry  arms  out  to  the  traders  along 
the  Gulf  of  Akaba.  They  made  themselves  comfortable 
with  our  cameleers  and  read  the  “  Desert  News  ”  to  each 
other  almost  all  night  long. 

We  rose  early  (Saturday,  February  27th)  to  enjoy  that 
sublime  view  upward  into  Sinai,  and  began  one  of  the  most 
memorable  days  of  this  fascinating  journey.  The  notch 
making  the  famous  defile,  Nagb  el  Hawa,  let  the  morning 
sunlight  through  its  mysterious  depths  with  effects  that 
would  have  bewildered  the  pencil  of  Dante  himself.  It 
recalled  and  surpassed  every  imagination  that  ever  attached 
itself  to  the  inexpressible  conception  of  a  path  of  life  and 


Nagb  el  Hawa— Some  fine  boulders  of  red  granite 


Oasis  of  Feiran  to  Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  201 

perfect  day.  Leaving  camp,  we  walked  enchanted  down 
the  remaining  slope,  some  200  feet,  to  the  deep  valley  below, 
and  then  began  the  slow  and  toilsome  ascent  upward 
through  the  narrow  defile  between  the  lightning-riven 
shattered  cliffs  of  granite  some  800  feet  sheer  and  much 
less  than  800  feet  apart.  The  whole  floor  of  the  defile  is 
strewn  with  granite  boulders,  from  the  size  of  a  steamer 
trunk  to  that  of  a  three-story  house,  heaping  themselves 
in  indescribable  confusion  toward  the  center,  where  wintry 
torrents  and  water-spouts  have  played  titanic  sport  since 
the  earliest  days  of  the  earth’s  history.  Geologists  tell  us 
that  the  granite  mass  of  Sinai  is  one  of  the  few  spots  upon 
our  planet  that  has  never  been  submerged  since  it  was 
lifted  by  the  hand  of  God  above  the  waters  of  creation. 
The  path  for  the  riding  camels  (our  baggage  caravan  went 
around  by  the  longer  route)  has  been  trodden  and  hollowed 
out  along  the  shelving  sides  of  the  ravine,  and  every  time 
one  approached  the  threatening  walls  on  either  side  one 
could  not  but  shudder  at  the  thought  of  one  or  two  more 
boulders  being  suddenly  added  to  the  heaps  through 
which  he  and  his  camel  were  toiling.  Again  and  again  we 
dismounted  and  allowed  the  camels  to  rest.  It  took  us 
more  than  three  hours  to  reach  the  top  of  the  steep  climb. 
By  that  time  the  sun  had  risen  high  enough  for  our  cameras. 
Figure  39  gives  an  interesting  bit  at  the  top,  with  riderless 
camels  winding  among  the  boulders,  and  a  striking  glimpse 
of  the  country  far  below,  over  which  we  had  come  the  day 
before.  Figure  40  gives  another  bit  higher  up,  while  figure 
41  is  a  truly  characteristic  specimen.  The  big  red  boulder 
just  beyond  Dr.  Goucher  on  his  camel  is  three  or  four  times 
as  large  as  a  freight  car,  and  would  make  a  magnificent 
monument  for  the  finest  park  in  the  world.  The  floor  of 
the  defile  beyond  is  strewn  with  so  many  that  on  looking 
back  one  wonders  how  he  ever  managed  to  get  through 
them  with  his  camel. 

Many  travellers  when  they  have  mounted  the  Nagb  el 


202 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Hawa,  the  windy  pass,  wearily  wish  and  expect  to  see  the 
famous  monastery  just  in  front  of  them.  But  they  have 
yet  to  pass  through  the  wildest  and  most  desolate  spot  of 
the  peninsula,  with  peak  after  peak  appearing  until  the 
total  effect  is  simply  overwhelming.  It  far  exceeds  the  most 
brilliant  descriptions  ever  given  to  it.  That  hour  at  sunset 
looking  upward  into  the  after-glow  on  those  red  granite 
footstools  of  the  Creator’s  throne  in  the  heavens,  and  this 
hour  within  the  stillness  and  desolation  and  sublimity  of 
Horeb  (God’s  own  “Waste”)  are  hours  that  can  never  fade 
from  the  memory  of  any  responsive  human  soul  that  is 
privileged  to  worship  in  this  temple  not  made  with  human 
hands.  If  human  sentiment,  the  deeper  instincts  of  the 
human  heart,  the  power  to  appreciate  the  matchless  gran¬ 
deur  of  this  combination  of  primeval  rock  and  eternal  sky 
are  faculties  which  may  legitimately  search  for  and  settle 
upon  the  “Mountain  of  the  Law,”  then  here  in  Sinai  is  as 
fit  a  place  as  there  can  be  upon  this  earth  where  human 
spirits  could  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  granite  walls 
of  moral  truths.  Here  might  well  take  place  the  myster¬ 
ious  birth  of  the  soul  of  a  people  who  in  God’s  providence 
have  already  exercised  and  are  destined  still  to  exercise 
such  an  overmastering  influence  on  the  moral  and  spiritual 
redemption  of  the  human  race,  but  which  can  never  be 
complete  until  the  second  birth  through  a  “greater  than 
Moses,”  who  taught  a  gentler  creed  and  gospel  among  the 
quieter  beauties  about  the  lovely  Sea  of  Galilee.1 

An  hour  beyond  the  top  of  the  Nagb  the  frowning  tops 
of  another  peak  seemed  to  bar  our  way  in  front,  and  a  little 
later  we  stood  on  the  edge  of  er  Rahah,  the  famous  plain 
that  slopes  gently  downward,  like  the  floor  of  a  modern 
amphitheater,  and  ends  at  the  base  of  another  sublime 
peak  which  fascinated  Robinson  and  a  thousand  travellers 
since,  and  has  come  to  figure  as  “ the  Mountain  of  the  Law.” 
This  plain  at  the  watershed,  according  to  Robinson,  is 

i  “  J.  V.  and  P,”  Vol.  I,  pp.  123-127. 


“Mountain  of  the  Law” — as  seen  from  above 


ft 


Oasis  of  Feiran  to  Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  203 

900  yards  wide  and  the  distance  down  the  gentle  slope  to  the 
base  of  the  peak  Sufsafeh  2333  yards.  The  slope  north  of 
the  watershed  is  somewhat  less  than  a  mile  in  length  and  a 
third  of  a  mile  in  breadth.  The  whole  plain  thus  becomes 
two  miles  long  and  from  one-third  to  two-thirds  of  a  mile 
wide,  giving  a  clear  surface  of  at  least  one  square  mile. 
Now  this  space  would  be  hopelessly  and  totally  inadequate 
as  a  camping-place,  as  Arabs  camp,  for  10,000  people  and 
their  flocks,  much  less  100,000,  and  how  much  less  millions. 
But  for  an  assembly  of  the  clans,  of  all  who  could  leave  the 
tents  and  cattle,  it  would  accommodate  several  hundred 
thousand  people  without  including  the  side  valleys  which 
open  out  in  at  least  two  directions,  and  all  who  gathered 
would  be  in  full  view  of  the  mount  in  front.  Panorama 
38,  taken  just  below  the  watershed  with  a  swing  camera, 
gives  a  clear  view  of  some  60  degrees  of  the  plain  and  ad¬ 
joining  peaks.  The  “Mountain  of  the  Law”  is  the  rugged 
and  detached  mass  in  the  center.  It  rises  from  1200  to 
1500  feet  almost  sheer  in  its  dark  and  frowning  majesty, 
and  grows  upon  one  as  one  approaches  and  realizes  the 
nature  of  the  scarred  and  shattered  red  granite  mass.  The 
stern  splintered  mass  at  the  right  is  only  one  of  a  dozen  such 
peaks  around  and  adjacent  to  this  plain  of  er  Rahah. 

To  complete  the  description  of  this  plain  I  direct  the 
attention  of  the  reader  to  three  other  unique  views  of  this 
famous  mountain:  Figure  42  was  taken  at  much  closer 
range  and  shows  clearly  how  the  plain  continues  to  the  base 
of  the  mountain  which  rises  almost  like  the  wall  of  a  build¬ 
ing  that  certainly  could  be  touched  by  a  man  still  standing 
on  the  floor  of  the  plain.  In  the  deep  valley  to  the  left 
can  be  seen  the  dark  outlines  of  the  Monastery  of  St. 
Katharine,  the  only  ancient  inhabited  building  in  the 
peninsula. 

Figure  43  gives  a  view  of  this  same  peak  taken  from 
the  opposite  direction  in  the  mountain  above,  a  bit  of  the 
plain  of  er  Rahah  appearing  at  the  left.  And  Figure  44 


204 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


gives  a  unique  and  remarkable  view  of  the  plain  itself,  as 
seen  from  the  cleft  to  the  left  of  the  peak  Sufsafeh  in  Figure 
43,  and  the  right  of  the  peak,  as  seen  further  from  the  plain 
below  in  Figure  42.  This  series  of  views  ought  to  enable  the 
reader  to  appreciate  something  of  the  grandeur  and  wonder¬ 
ful  beauty  of  the  location,  though  no  pen  nor  pencil  nor 
brush  can  ever  reproduce  much  of  the  atmosphere,  the 
coloring,  the  desolation  and  the  effect  of  the  changing 
shadows  from  early  dawn  through  the  brilliant  midday, 
and  from  the  fading  daylight  into  the  after-glow. 

Some  days  later  we  again  visited  this  plain,  and  Dr. 
Goucher  and  Mr.  Taylor  made  many  experiments  as  to 
how  far  the  human  voice  would  carry  in  this  crystalline 
atmosphere  5000  feet  above  sea-level,  surrounded  by  these 
bare  and  polished  mountain  faces  of  red  granite.  The  re¬ 
sults  were  simply  astonishing,  easily  convincing  us  that  the 
voice  of  a  Moses,  or  of  any  powerful  man  born  and  raised 
in  the  wilderness  where  men’s  voices  take  on  much  of  the 
width  and  volume  of  their  environment,  could  have  been 
heard  the  best  part  of  a  mile  while  standing  on  any  of  the 
lower  crags  of  the  mountain  overlooking  the  plain. 

Again  I  repeat  that  reason,  tradition  and  sentiment 
easily  agree  and  combine  upon  this  unique  location  for 
the  momentous  events  of  those  memorable  eleven  months 
of  the  Exodus.  And  again  I  repeat  that  while  I  have  pic¬ 
tured  the  grandest  of  all  possible  locations,  there  are  other 
spots  within  the  Sinaitic  circle  of  granite  that  would  furnish 
other  almost  matchless  theaters  for  the  same  events. 
But  God’s  choice  of  the  Holy  Land  for  the  incarnation, 
embracing  charming  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth,  the  quiet 
beauties  of  Galilee  for  that  ministry  of  the  Gospel  of  peace 
and  grace,  rightly  suggests  the  granite  sublimities  of  Sinai 
for  the  majesty  and  adamantine  provisions  of  the  moral 
law. 


Plain  of  er  Rahah  as  seen  from  the  “Mountain  of  the 


CHAPTER  XVII 


MONASTERY  OF  SAINT  KATHARINE  AT  SINAI 

Half  an  hour  after  we  left  the  plain  of  er  Rahah  we 
passed  below  the  garden  wall  of  the  Convent,  turned 
sharply  to  the  right  into  the  space  between  the  gardens 
and  the  Monastery  (Panorama  45)  and  alighted  in  front 
of  a  large  wooden  door  which  barred  all  farther  progress. 
In  response  to  repeated  use  of  the  iron  knocker  a  man’s  head 
appeared  through  a  small  window  high  up  in  the  wall  to 
the  left,  and  asked  some  wholly  unnecessary  questions  as  to 
who  we  were  and  what  we  wanted.  After  some  farther 
delay  we  were  admitted  through  the  door  to  a  large  outer 
courtyard  lying  between  the  monastery  and  the  garden, 
where  some  half-dozen  Arabs  were  sitting  round  upon 
the  ground.  We  produced  our  letters  from  the  Bishop 
in  Cairo,  and  Milhem  disappeared  through  the  small  door 
(Fig.  50),  which  we  afterward  came  to  know  as  the  sole 
entrance  to  the  monastery  proper.  A  little  later  came  a 
polite  invitation  to  enter,  and  we  followed  our  guide 
through  the  little  door,  made  two  sharp  turns  within  the 
massive  wall,  then  along  a  cool  paved  courtyard  and  up  a 
stairway  to  the  reception  room,  where  we  called  on  the 
Prior  Eugenios,  who  gave  us  a  kindly  reception  to  the  life 
and  precincts  of  the  Monastery.  During  our  short  call 
and  conversation  we  were  offered  arak  (date  brandy), 
quince  jelly,  water,  good  coffee,  and  cigarettes,  and,  having 
refused  the  first  and  the  last,  we  excused  ourselves  and 
started  back  to  the  gardens.  On  the  way  we  inspected 
the  ancient  windlass  and  2^-inch  rope  which,  with  its 
basket,  is  the  oldest  progenitor  of  our  modern  elevator. 
While  the  gardens  are  neither  ornamental  nor  well  kept,  the 

205 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


?o  6 

little  artificial  oasis  is  a  real  gem  in  its  desolate  surround¬ 
ings.  We  ate  luncheon  under  the  fragrant  shade  of  the 
blossoming  almond  and  apricot  trees  and  waited  for  the 
arrival  of  our  caravan.  When  it  came,  all  was  noise  and 
confusion.  A  new  set  of  Arabs  claimed  the  right  of  carry¬ 
ing  the  loads  from  the  courtyard  to  the  gardens,  perhaps  a 
hundred  yards  away,  and,  as  we  afterward  learned,  still 
another  set  claimed  the  right  to  carry  them  back,  and  each 
set  claimed  separate  pay.  But  after  a  time  we  saw  the 
tents  up  and  we  settled  down  to  enjoy  the  life  under  our 
own  tent-poles.  Whenever  we  camped  for  more  than  a 
single  night  the  men  took  much  more  pains  to  make  the 
whole  camp  comfortable,  and  we  have  many  special  reasons 
for  remembering  the  camp  at  Sinai.  Our  tents  can  be  seen 
in  Panorama  45  among  the  trees  to  the  right. 

About  the  middle  of  the  4th  century  it  was  the  Byzantine 
Christians  who  began  the  exploitation  of  the  Holy  Places, 
and  who  peopled  the  peninsula  with  anchorites  and  coeno¬ 
bites  bound  by  a  common  monastic  rule.  Traces  of  their 
occupation  are  found  in  all  the  mountain  valleys  dating 
from  the  massacres  which  attended  the  Saracen  invasion. 
The  only  spot  in  the  peninsula  which  was  not  submerged 
by  the  advancing  tide  of  Islam  is  the  Monastery  of  St. 
Katharine  (see  Frontispiece).  This  picturesque  institution, 
standing  in  a  sublime  valley  of  the  Sinai  group,  occupies  the 
site  of  a  fort  built  by  the  Emperor  Justinian  in  527  A.  D. 
It  is  a  long  pile  of  old  buildings  enclosed  by  a  high  wall, 
on  one  side  of  which  a  few  rusty  cannon  still  do  sentinel 
duty.  A  lower  wall  encloses  the  adjoining  delightful  gar¬ 
dens  which  have  been  wrung  by  incessant  toil  from  the  rocky 
hillside.  The  fortress  monastery  has  witnessed  many  a 
thrilling  event  in  history,  has  withstood  many  an  attack 
and  siege,  and  shows  marks  inside  and  out  of  its  stormy 
history.  The  present  entrance  for  all  purposes,  after  the 
traveller  has  been  admitted  to  the  center  courtyard,  is  the 
low  door  (Fig.  50)  with  two  sharp  turns  within  the  wall, 


Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  at  Sinai  207 

each  capable  of  being  barricaded  successfully  against  the 
most  determined  invader.  At  the  first  sign  of  danger  these 
doors  are  closed,  partially  walled  up,  and  then  the  only 
means  of  entrance  and  exit  is  the  windlass,  2j-inch  rope 
and  basket,  which  is  let  down  from  a  portcullis  on  the  high 
wall  toward  the  north.  This  primitive  elevator  is  in  good 
working  order  and  is  a  genuine  reminder  of  the  strenuous 
conditions  of  life  through  all  the  passing  centuries. 

The  monastery  is  now  a  pilgrim  shrine  of  the  Greek 
Orthodox  Church,  and  the  kindly  monks,  about  30  in  all, 
are  severely  taxed  in  providing  accommodation  for  parties 
as  large  as  100,  which  come  several  times  every  year 
from  Suez.  The  main  church  is  an  early  Christian  basilica, 
containing  a  wealth  of  detail  and  symbolism  of  interest  to 
the  archaeologist.  The  oldest  part  of  the  structure  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  “The  Chapel  of  the  Burning  Bush,”  said  to 
mark  the  very  spot  where  God  appeared  to  Moses.  All 
visitors  must  remove  their  shoes  before  entering.  The 
dim  light  scarcely  reveals  the  wealth  of  porcelain,  chased 
silver,  frescoes  and  handsomely  wrought  lamps.  A  ray  of 
the  sun  is  said  to  enter  this  sanctuary  once  a  year  only, 
gaining  admission  through  a  cleft  in  the  mountain  ridge  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  valley.  With  a  fine  sentimentality 
the  monks  have  erected  a  large  cross  on  the  mountain  ridge, 
so  that  the  shadow  of  the  cross  must  touch  the  site  of  the 
Burning  Bush  once  a  year,  and  the  hill  is  called  the  “Hill 
of  the  Cross.”  Behind  the  church  is  the  well  from  which 
Moses  is  said  to  have  watered  the  flocks  of  Jethro  and  where 
he  met  his  future  wife. 

The  same  tradition  which  assigns  the  building  to  Justin¬ 
ian  (527-565)  says  it  was  originally  dedicated  to  the  re¬ 
membrance  of  the  Transfiguration.  Its  present  name  was 
obtained  when  the  relics  of  St.  Katharine  were  transferred 
hither.  According  to  one  tradition,  she  was  a  martyr  of 
the  primitive  church  tortured  on  the  wheel  and  beheaded 
by  order  of  the  Emperor  Maximian,  November  23,  307. 


20  8 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


According  to  some  accounts  the  torture  was  prevented  by 
a  miracle.  The  wheel  became  her  symbol,  as  will  easily 
be  noted  by  the  “certificate”  (Fig.  46)  bought  by  each 
pilgrim  who  makes  the  pilgrimage  to  her  shrine.  Another 
tradition  says  that  after  her  martyrdom  her  body  was 
carried  by  the  angels  from  Alexandria  to  the  summit  of 
the  mountain  that  now  bears  her  name,  and  down  in  the 
sacristy  are  shown  her  relics,  which  consist  of  a  skull  and 
hand  set  in  gold  and  embossed  with  jewels. 

It  might  fairly  be  argued  that  the  name  of  St.  Katharine 
militates  against  this  monastery’s  having  been  built  to  the 
memory  of  Moses  or  to  mark  the  “Mountain  of  the  Law,” 
and  that  after  it  became  the  only  habitation  which  sur¬ 
vived  the  Saracen  invasion  the  monks  naturally  annexed 
the  other  sacred  sites  for  the  convenience  of  pilgrims  and 
the  profit  of  the  monastery.  At  any  rate  the  “certificate” 
still  issued  by  the  monastery  to  the  pilgrims  presents  a 
curious  conglomeration  of  traditions  and  fancies.  In 
Figure  46  is  shown  the  Monastery,  and  out  of  it  grows  a 
burning  bush  and  within  the  flame  the  Virgin  and  Child. 
Of  the  mountains  the  central  one  is  assigned  to  Moses, 
and  winding  up  it  appears  the  famous  stairway.  The 
mountain  on  the  right  belongs  to  St.  Katharine  and  the 
angels  are  in  the  act  of  placing  her  body  there.  The  third 
peak  is  assigned  to  Elijah,  who  is  seen  at  its  base  being  fed 
by  the  ravens.  Behind  the  peaks  is  seen  the  Red  Sea  with 
ships  and  fishes.  The  whole  picture  is  covered  with  scenes 
and  names  which  include  saints  and  martyrs  of  all  ages. 
At  the  very  base  of  the  Monastery  are  Arabs  shooting  with 
ancient  cross-bows  at  the  monk  who  is  raising  the  basket 
from  the  depths  below.  It  is  a  superb  representation  of 
the  ancient  world  in  its  geography,  history,  traditions  and 
religion  as  it  exists  in  the  minds  of  the  monks  and  pilgrims 
who  visit  Sinai.  The  original  certificate  is  13J  inches  wide 
and  18  inches  long,  and  thousands  of  copies  of  it  hang 
framed  in  the  homes  of  Greece  and  Russia. 


Pilgrims  Ceitificate  sold  by  the  Monks  at  Sinai.  The  original  is 
13P2  inches  wide  and  18  inches  long 


Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  at  Sinai  209 

The  Monastery,  as  will  be  seen  clearly  in  Panorama  45 
and  the  Frontispiece,  is  really  a  fortress  containing  a  laby¬ 
rinth  of  buildings  and  small  courts,  with  an  endless  series 
of  small  rooms,  vaults,  stairways  and  passages  leading 
in  every  direction.  It  is,  indeed,  a  venerable  building, 
dating  back  more  than  1300  years.  The  original  fortress 
wall  is  built  largely  of  granite  measuring  209  feet  one  way 
and  235  feet  the  other,  and  the  whole  structure  fully  one- 
fourth  as  high  as  it  is  wide  and  long.  Our  Frontispiece 
is  a  superb  view  of  the  building  and  granite  mountain 
behind  it.  The  upper  portions  of  the  outer  wall  have  been 
repaired  at  many  points  by  poor  and  cheap  masonry. 
The  hard  granite  is  so  costly  to  cut  and  handle  that  perhaps 
little  of  it  has  been  used  since  the  days  of  Justinian.  While 
we  were  at  the  Monastery  they  showed  us  the  preparation 
for  making  and  burning  rough  brick,  which  seemed  almost 
a  shame  where  soil  of  any  kind  is  much  more  precious  than 
granite. 

While  the  weight  of  early  Christian  tradition  centers 
round  Serbal,  the  Oasis  of  Feiran,  where  stood  the  ancient 
city  and  center  of  the  anchorites,  and  where  have  been 
found  the  oldest  coins  and  remains  of  the  largest  monastic 
establishments,  the  Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  at  the  base 
of  Jebel  Musa  enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of  being  the 
only  building  that  was  left  standing  at  the  time  the  Muslim 
conquerors  swept  over  the  peninsula  and  wiped  out  every 
other  trace  of  Christian  civilization.  The  reason  why 
the  Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  was  left  standing  has  never 
been  fully  told,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  by  any  other  traveller. 
The  reason,  as  I  learned  in  Cairo  and  which  was  afterward 
confirmed  by  the  monks  at  Sinai,  is  something  about  as 
follows:  A  certain  Muslim  Caliph  of  Egypt,  named  Kila- 
wun  (1279  A.  D.),  celebrated  for  alternate  acts  of  cruelty 
and  beneficence,  extended  his  conquests  and  warlike  en¬ 
terprises  to  Hums,  Tripoli  and  Damascus  in  Syria.  After 
his  conquest  of  that  country  and  knowing  of  the  Christian 

14 


♦ 


210 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


civilization  still  existing  at  and  about  the  Oasis  of  Feiran, 
he  sent  an  army  to  destroy  it.  He  certainly  wiped  out 
the  Christian  city  of  Feiran.  He  reduced  to  ruins  several 
other  well-known  monasteries  in  the  vicinity  of  Sinai, 
but,  as  the  story  goes,  the  wily  monks  of  this  particular 
convent  met  the  commander  and  his  thirsty  army  with 
gifts  of  food  and  water  and  probably  gold,  some  distance 
away  from  their  monastic  home.  By  this  submission  and 
their  gifts  they  appeased  his  religious  fanaticism  and 
sought  for  some  way  to  escape  annihilation.  The  story 
says  that  at  his  suggestion  they  hastily  converted  one  of 
the  many  vaulted  rooms  into  a  mosque  and  made  a  shabby 
minaret.  According  to  promise  he  then  wrote  back  to  his 
master  in  Egypt  that  with  great  surprise  he  actually  found 
within  the  monastery  of  St.  Katharine  at  Sinai  a  Moslem 
mosque,  and  therefore  refrained  from  destroying  the  whole 
establishment  until  he  received  further  specific  orders  from 
his  master.  The  orders  never  came,  and  whether  this 
story  be  literally  true  or  a  legend,  one  undeniable  fact  re¬ 
mains  in  the  existence  of  this  little  mosque  in  the  center 
of  this  Christian  monastery  till  the  present  hour,  remaining 
as  it  has  been  for  centuries,  a  grievous  thorn  in  the  flesh  of 
these  monks  of  Sinai.  They  dare  not  destroy  it,  they  can¬ 
not  allow  its  use  by  the  surrounding  Muslim  population 
except  under  most  rigid  restrictions. 

Many  travellers  have  described  the  quaint  customs  of 
the  monks  and  the  rigorous  monastic  rule.  Some  have 
treated  their  life,  notably  Palmer,  as  a  sort  of  religious  hum¬ 
bug,  while  others,  like  Robinson,  have  been  deeply  moved 
by  the  pathos  of  the  whole  situation.  We  attended  one 
of  the  long  services  and  were  deeply  impressed  by  the  faces 
and  attitudes  and  voices  of  these  old  men  who  had  spent 
from  ten  to  sixty  years  in  that  lonely  mountain  with  fre¬ 
quent  fastings  and  weekly  prayers  beginning  as  early  as 
2  a.  m.  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  At  the  close  of  the 
services  we  attended,  a  basin  of  bread  soaked  in  wine  was 


Monastery  of  St.  Katharine  at  Sinai  21 1 

passed  round,  and  we  were  invited  to  partake  with  the 
other  worshippers. 

The  Economos  or  prior  Eugenios  has  been  in  the  monas¬ 
tery  since  1866  with  almost  no  intermission.  He  made  one 
journey  to  Jerusalem  five  years  ago.  He  spoke  broken 
Arabic  and  so  we  had  no  difficulty  in  communicating  with 
him  when  seeking  information  or  making  our  wants  known. 
He  told  us  of  a  small  school  started  at  Tor  for  Arabic  speak¬ 
ing  pupils,  and  we  had  pleasure  in  giving  him  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  Testaments  and  Gospels  in  Arabic  to  be  used  as  text¬ 
books  in  the  school.  One  of  the  younger  brothers  also  spoke 
Arabic  very  well  and  accompanied  us  about  the  monastery. 
At  the  time  of  our  visit  there  were  28  monks  in  attendance, 
all  Ionian  Greeks.  They  were  just  then  rejoicing  greatly 
over  the  action  of  the  British  Government  in  forcing  Tur¬ 
key  to  remove  her  troops  away  from  Akaba  and  in  replacing 
the  boundary  marks  between  Turkey  and  Egypt.  This 
means  that  they  are  to  remain  under  the  protection  of 
Egypt  and  Great  Britain,  which  makes  them  safe  against 
all  attacks  or  molestation  by  the  Arabs. 

Russia  also,  for  religious  reasons,  has  extended  another 
kind  of  protection,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  never 
need  wall  up  the  little  door  again  and  be  obliged  to  return 
to  basket,  rope  and  windlass. 

Of  course  we  visited  the  ancient  library,  which  has  been 
greatly  improved  during  the  past  ten  or  fifteen  years,  es¬ 
pecially  through  the  efforts  of  two  English  ladies,  Mrs. 
Gibson  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Lewis.  Some  of  the  more 
valuable  books  have  been  encased  in  wooden  and  leather 
covers  to  protect  them.  Two  or  three  complete  catalogues 
have  been  made  of  the  Greek  and  Arabic  volumes,  almost 
all  in  manuscript.  They  showed  us  a  reproduction  of  the 
Codex  Sinai ticus,  the  discovery  of  which  in  1844  has  made 
this  library  famous  for  ever.  It  is  reckoned  the  first 
( Aleph )  and  most  precious  among  the  manuscripts  of  the 
BT>le.  The  greater  part  of  it  is  now  in  St.  Petersburg. 


212 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


It  contains  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  complete, 
together  with  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  and  a  large  part  of 
the  Shepherd  of  Hermas.  It  was  discovered  by  Tischen- 
dorf  and  dates  from  about  400  A.  D.,  and  is  surpassed  by 
the  Codex  Vaticanus  alone  in  age  and  authority.  Several 
of  the  leaves  are  preserved  at  the  Leipzig  University  Li¬ 
brary  under  the  name  Codex  Friderico-Augustanus,  but 
the  greater  part  was  purchased  from  the  monastery  by 
Alexander  II  for  8000  francs  in  1869.  The  discovery  and 
loss  of  this  great  treasure  to  the  monastery  here  made  the 
monks  more  jealous  than  ever  of  the  books  that  remain. 
They  have  scores  of  duplicates  of  certain  early  Greek 
manuscripts  of  prayer  books.  Dr.  Goucher  greatly  de¬ 
sired  to  purchase  one  of  these,  and  though  we  tried  every 
means  possible  in  Cairo  and  afterward  at  the  Monastery 
he  did  not  succeed. 

And  here,  according  to  promise,  I  give  some  account  of 
the  problem  of  the  documents  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
especially  of  those  forming  the  Hexateuch.  Those  who 
find  this  too  dry  for  their  taste  may  pass  on  at  once  to 
Chapter  XIX  and  begin  the  ascent  of  Jebel  Musa. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  PROBLEM  AS  RELATED  TO  THE  DOCUMENTS 
PART  I.— THE  DIVISION  OF  THE  DOCUMENTS 

Among  the  most  interesting  results  of  archaeology  is  the 
assured  fact  that  all  the  great  nations  of  antiquity  had 
written  records  of  their  own  laws,  history  and  institutions. 
We  are  constantly  amazed  at  the  abundance  of  these  rec¬ 
ords  as  indicated  by  the  discoveries  of  fragments  of  their 
ancient  libraries  and  government  records  such  as  those 
recently  unearthed  at  Tel  el-Amarna  in  Egypt  and  some 
of  the  mounds  in  Babylonia.  Reference  has  already  been 
made  (p.  29)  to  the  written  records  of  Egypt  which  extend 
back  to  the  dates  prior  to  4000  B.  C.,  and  it  is  now  known 
that  papyrus  was  used  in  Egypt  as  early  as  3580  B.  C., 
and  that  true  alphabetic  letters  were  in  use  there  2500 
years  before  their  use  by  any  other  people.  The  written 
records  of  Babylonia  extend  to  as  remote,  if  not  more  re¬ 
mote,  periods  of  human  history.  It  would  not  be  strange, 
therefore,  if  we  should  take  for  granted  that  the  Children 
of  Israel  possessed  documents  which  had  their  origin  in 
the  earliest  periods  of  their  history  as  a  people. 

Years  ago  we  were  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  Penta¬ 
teuch,  which  was  a  term  to  include  the  first  five  books  of 
the  Bible:  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers  and 
Deuteronomy.  In  more  recent  years  Joshua  has  been 
added  to  this  list  and  we  are  now  accustomed  to  speak  of 
the  Hexateuch  meaning  the  first  six  books  of  the  Bible. 

The  book  of  Genesis  touches  more  problems  in  science, 
archaeology,  and  history  than  any  other  book  of  the  Old 

213 


214 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Testament  and,  we  might  well  add,  any  other  book  in  the 
world.  Its  name,  as  is  well  known,  was  given  from  the 
first  written  word  from  the  manuscript  roll  in  which  the 
book  was  preserved.  Other  rolls  of  the  ancient  Hebrew 
libraries  took  their  names  from  the  first  word  or  paragraphs 
in  those  rolls,  and  the  names  thus  casually  given  do  not 
always  prove  to  be  an  accurate  index  to  the  contents  of  the 
book.  It  is  well  known  to  careful  students  that  if  the  three 
books,  Exodus,  Leviticus  and  Numbers,  had  been  included 
in  one  of  the  ancient  rolls  instead  of  three,  we  might  have 
divided  them  much  more  suitably,  though  very  unequally, 
as  follows:  (i)  Exodus  i  to  18  would  be  entitled  “The 
Exodus  from  Egypt  to  Sinai/’  (2)  Exodus  19  to  Numbers 
10:  10  would  be  entitled  “The  History  of  the  Children  of 
Israel  at  Sinai,”  (3)  Numbers  10:  n  to  36:  13  would  be 
“The  History  of  the  Exodus  from  Sinai  to  the  Jordan.” 
The  book  of  Deuteronomy  would  then  be  a  sort  of  biog¬ 
raphy  of  Moses  in  which  the  writer  speaks  of  Moses  as 
having  reviewed  the  whole  history  of  the  Children  of  Israel, 
pointing  out  to  them  many  lessons  of  God’s  providence  and 
repeating  in  varied  form  all  the  laws  and  commandments 
by  means  of  which  the  Hebrew  children  of  the  Egyptian 
bondage  were  transformed  into  the  Hebrew  nation  and  the 
people  Israel.  And  the  book  of  Joshua  gives  the  history 
of  the  actual  entrance  into  the  promised  land,  its  conquest, 
its  survey  and  its  division  among  the  tribes  of  Israel,  thus 
completing  the  history  of  God’s  chosen  people,  as  they  un¬ 
derstood  it,  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  to  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy. 

Taking  this  section  of  the  Bible  as  a  whole  under  the 
title  of  the  Hexateuch,  scholars  have  bestowed  upon  it 
during  the  last  hundred  years  an  amount  of  study  which  far 
exceeds  all  that  was  ever  bestowed  upon  it  since  it  was  first 
written.  Among  the  greater  results  is  the  fact  that 
documents  were  certainly  used  in  the  preparation  of  the 
Hexateuch.  Whatever  we  may  think  about  dates  assigned 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  215 


to  these  documents,  or  however  we  may  be  troubled  about 
the  thousand  and  one  fantastic  structures  built  upon  this 
cardinal  fact,  we  are  bound  to  recognize  this  result  of 
modern  critical  research,  that  the  Hexateuch  makes  use  of 
several  older  documents ;  in  fact,  this  claim  is  so  well  estab¬ 
lished  that  we  must  accept  it  in  order  to  gain  any  clear 
understanding  of  this  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  which  is  easily  verified  in  our  Bible 
that,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  consulting  the  originals 
when  they  existed  only  in  the  cumbrous  rolls  of  manuscript, 
where  the  first  word  or  paragraph  was  50  or  100  feet  away 
from  some  other  paragraph  needed  in  the  heart  of  the  roll, 
writers  and  speakers  very  often  quoted  from  memory,  and  no 
account  was  taken  of  minor  variations  so  long  as  the  sense 
of  the  passage  referred  to  was  retained.  Many  also  are 
in  danger  of  forgetting  the  well-known  fact  that  in  these 
ancient  manuscripts  there  is  no  assistance  to  the  reader 
such  as  wre  derive  from  the  use  of  capital  and  small  letters, 
but  all  the  ancient  writings  were  in  letters  of  uniform  size 
and  shape.  In  the  more  ancient  writings  there  is  not  only 
a  total  lack  of  chapter  and  verse  divisions,  but  no  pretence 
of  punctuation.  Quotation  marks  do  not  exist.  Whenever 
one  author  made  use  of  passages  from  another  there  is 
rarely  any  clue  to  the  fact  of  its  being  a  quotation.  Start¬ 
ing  with  the  premise  that  documents  were  used  in  preparing 
the  Hexateuch,  a  thousand  investigators  in  the  course  of 
a  few  years  invented  a  whole  vocabulary  of  signs  and  terms 
and  epithets  which  were  as  unintelligible  to  the  ordinary 
reader  as  the  most  abstruse  treatise  in  mathematics  or  the 
higher  problems  in  physics  and  astronomy.  Now  it  is  not 
my  purpose  in  this  book  to  enter  into  any  lengthy  discus¬ 
sion  of  the  endless  series  of  intricate  problems  which  have 
been  evolved  and  manufactured  by  those  who  have  run  riot 
in  their  speculations  and  investigations.  But  even  the 
ordinary  reader  must  in  these  days  know  something  about 
P,  J,  E,  D.  P  stands  for  the  document  written  by  the 


2l6 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


priestly  writer  or  writers.  This  document  is  said  to  be  a 
review  of  Israel’s  history  in  the  interests  of  the  priest¬ 
hood.  Everything  in  the  most  ancient  history  or  tradi¬ 
tions  of  the  Children  of  Israel  that  would  substantiate  the 
claims  of  the  priesthood  and  the  ceremonial  law  is  seized 
upon  and  made  the  most  of.  According  to  this  conception 
it  parallels  what  might  be  designated  as  “papal”  (or  pa¬ 
pistic)  histories  of  the  Christian  Church  written,  say,  in 
the  year  1200,  which  endeavor  to  push  origins  of  the  papacy 
back  into  the  3d  century  and  seize  upon  every  incident 
or  document  that  could  be  made  to  point  in  that  direction. 
Or,  to  take  an  example  from  a  non-Christian  faith,  Moslem 
writers,  while  knowing  in  a  general  way  that  the  religion 
of  Islam  dates  from  the  person  of  Muhammad,  have  ex¬ 
tended  their  claims  for  their  faith  back  into  the  most  remote 
history,  and  solemnly  assert  that  Adam  and  Moses  and 
David,  and  even  Christ  himself,  were  good  Moslems.  J 
and  E  are  documents  whose  distinction  from  each  other 
depends  originally  upon  the  two  words  used  for  God;  J  is 
the  Jahvistic  document  in  which  the  name  Jahveh  (Je¬ 
hovah)  is  the  name  mainly  used  to  designate  God,  while  E 
is  the  Elohistic  document,  wherein  the  name  Elohim  is 
used  to  designate  the  divine  being.  D,  as  mentioned  above, 
refers  mainly  to  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  and  the  Greek 
origin  of  the  name  points  to  a  repetition  of  the  Law. 

In  the  original  documentary  hypothesis  the  leading  test 
was  this  varied  use  of  the  Divine  names,  and  it  is  still, 
generally  speaking,  the  simplest  and  most  general.  But  as 
investigation  proceeded  it  was  seen  and  pointed  out  that 
none  of  the  four  documents  or  writers  was  entirely  con¬ 
sistent  in  the  use  of  the  divine  names,  and  this  speedily 
led  to  the  exuberant  growth  of  theories  and  documents, 
until  at  the  present  time  in  sober  commentaries  there  are 
in  use  at  least  nine  of  these  cabalistic  signs  which  attempt 
to  distinguish  at  least  nine  documents  or  fragments  with 
hints  and  references  to  a  possible  extension  of  their  number 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  217 


and  intricacies.  With  the  growth  of  these  intricacies, 
many  of  which  are  fantastic,  if  not  absurd,  there  is  a  growth 
of  honest,  wholesome  sense.  It  was  pointed  out  years  ago 
that  the  attempt  to  differentiate  these  great  documents, 
using  the  name  of  God  as  the  sole  test,  was  a  very  precarious 
operation,  and  every  year  has  weakened  the  faith  of  scholars 
in  this  as  a  supreme  test. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  best  criticisms  ever  made  upon  this 
feature  of  the  documentary  hypothesis  is  the  argument 
from  analogy  as  exemplified  in  a  modern  hymn-book. 
According  to  the  consensus  of  scholars  of  all  types  of 
thinking,  the  dates  of  the  Old  Testament  manuscripts  all 
lie  somewhere  within  a  period  of  1200  years,  say  from  1500 
to  300  B.  C.  Now  it  happens  that  our  modern  books 
of  Christian  hymns  cover  a  period  of  about  the  same  length, 
because  while  our  English  language  in  its  present  form 
dates  back,  say,  1000  years,  the  older  forms  of  English 
easily  add  another  two  or  three  hundred  years,  and  it  is 
well  known  that  many  of  our  most  beautiful  modern  hymns 
are  translations  from  the  Latin  and  the  Greek,  which  extend 
still  farther  back  into  early  Christian  history.  If,  now, 
we  should  attempt  to  separate  into  categories  all  our  famous 
Christian  hymns  and  determine  their  age  solely  by  the  use 
of  the  names  of  God  in  them,  we  would  be  attempting  to 
do  what  has  been  done  with  the  manuscripts  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

According  to  this  theory,  we  should  select  all  the  hymns 
which  have  no  reference  to  the  Trinity  and  assign  them  a 
date  prior  to  the  great  Church  Councils  which  settled  that 
doctrine.  We  should  next  select  all  the  hymns  which  have 
no  reference  to  the  divine-human  nature  of  Christ,  and 
date  those  prior  to  the  great  monotheistic  controversy. 
We  should  then  select  all  the  hymns  which  make  use  of  the 
divine  name  Jehovah  and  give  them  a  date  different  from 
all  the  hymns  which  make  use  of  the  simpler  English  name 
Lord,  and  the  still  larger  collection  which  make  use  of  the 


2l8 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


one  name  God.  We  might  then  proceed  to  isolate  other 
hymns  according  to  their  use  of  the  various  names  for 
Jesus  Christ.  Similarly,  we  might  follow  out  other  lines 
of  historical  and  archaeological  research,  and  in  the  end  the 
result  would  be  a  mixture  of  follies,  absurdities  and  impos¬ 
sibilities  which  would  violate  every  dictum  of  common 
sense.  And  the  comparison  is  by  no  means  an  unfair  one, 
because  there  are  running  through  the  mass  of  our  standard 
hymns  great  dividing  lines,  which  separate  the  pietistic 
from  the  evangelistic  and  the  Latin  from  the  Greek  con¬ 
ceptions  of  Christianity. 

To  use  a  still  homelier  illustration  concerning  our  accept¬ 
ance  of  the  four  main  documents  embodied  in  the  Hexa- 
teuch,  we  might  refer  to  the  well-known  facts  of  phrenology 
and  the  vagaries  which  attached  themselves  to  that  branch 
of  knowledge  some  40  or  50  years  ago.  We  all  agree  that  in 
general  the  low  brow  and  the  cunning  eye  denote  the  crim¬ 
inal  type,  and  that  the  high  brow  and  the  regular  features, 
the  intellectual  type,  that  the  square  jaw  and  the  thick 
neck  indicate  brute  strength  and  determination;  but  when 
the  enthusiastic  phrenologist  maps  out  every  human  head 
into  regular  blocks  like  the  city  squares  of  Philadelphia,  we 
are  not  willing  to  follow.  There  are  many  good  people 
with  low  brows  and  unprepossessing  faces  and  there  are 
many  intellectual  looking  scoundrels.  So  there  is  a  point 
where  wholesome  common  sense  steps  in  and  calls  a  halt, 
and  we  certainly  have  reached  this  point  in  discussions 
of  the  documentary  hypothesis.  The  whole  tendency 
to-day  is  to  limit  the  proposition  to  its  broad  outlines  and 
to  discourage  seeking  after  the  fantastic  and  impossible. 

PART  II.— THE  EVOLUTIONARY  HYPOTHESIS 

Not  many  years  ago  a  large  part  of  the  thinking  and 
scientific  world  was  carried  away  by  the  fascinating  doc¬ 
trine  of  evolution,  which  in  the  enthusiastic  expectation 
of  its  holders  was  the  long  lost  key  to  a  thousand  important 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  219 


problems.  The  origin  of  life,  of  all  living  creatures,  the 
origin  of  man  were  supposed  to  be  cleared  up  for  ever,  and 
the  Creator  of  the  universe  was  to  be  relieved  of  all  re¬ 
sponsibility  for  things  as  they  are.  Given  the  spark  of  life, 
which  may  have  floated  in  from  some  other  planet,  in  one 
atom  of  protoplasm  and  “we  do  the  rest.”  Now,  while 
we  believe  that  the  principle  or  process  of  evolution  has  as 
legitimate  a  place  in  the  universe  as  the  law  of  gravitation, 
it  broke  down  completely  in  the  attempt  to  explain  the 
origin  of  species  and  became  almost  a  laughing  stock  when 
applied  to  explain  the  origin  of  man.  It  was  once  thought 
to  be  a  question  of  one  “missing  link,”  but  later  careful  re¬ 
view  has  revealed  the  facts  of  many  missing  links ;  in  fact, 
there  are  no  links  at  all.  Science  after  science  brought 
in  its  verdict  against  the  universal  solvent  of  all  the  stub¬ 
born  facts  of  Creation.  Such  a  remote  science  as  chemistry 
said  the  final  word  against  the  possibility  of  the  physical 
relationship  of  man  with  the  ape  family.  Chemistry  can 
analyze  the  blood  of  man  and  a  hundred  animals  and  never 
err  in  assigning  each  drop  to  its  proper  heart,  and  it  tells 
us  that  there  is  no  more  possibility  of  consanguinity  be¬ 
tween  the  man  and  the  ape  than  there  is  between  the 
man  and  the  lion;  they  are  forever  radically  and  irrevo¬ 
cably  distinct  and  different.  Indeed,  chemistry  separates 
man  from  all  other  animal  creation  by  a  distance  almost 
infinitely  greater  than  that  which  exists  between  the  lowest 
forms  of  animal  life  and  the  lion. 

After  this  much  abused  doctrine  was  relegated  to  its 
proper  place  in  biology,  it  was  stealthily  introduced  into 
many  another  department  of  knowledge  where  it  can  never 
rightly  apply.  It  came  into  religion,  an  old  foe  with  a 
new  face,  under  the  name  of  naturalism ,  and  the  natural 
man  is  ready  to  embrace  it  for  about  the  same  reasons  as 
the  savage  tribes  of  Africa  embrace  Islam  instead  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  As  a  doctrine,  naturalism,  otherwise  evolution, 
claims  that  all  religious  truth  is  derived  from  a  study  of 


220 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


nature  without  any  supernatural  revelation,  and  that  all 
religious  life  is  a  natural  development,  unmarked  by  any 
supernatural  influences. 

Shortly  after  the  rise  of  the  documentary  hypothesis  of 
the  Hexateuch,  many  investigators  began  to  rear  fantastic 
structures  upon  this  modest  hypothesis,  and  modern  ex¬ 
ponents  of  the  evolutionary  hypothesis,  under  the  guise  of 
naturalism,  rushed  in  to  apply  their  method. 

In  the  hands  of  these  later  investigators  the  old  docu¬ 
mentary  hypothesis  has  been  modified  into  an  evolutionary 
hypothesis.  The  method  of  procedure  has  been  on  the 
principle  that  a  document  representing  a  simpler  form  of 
religion  and  society  is  earlier,  and  one  that  presents  more 
complex  forms,  later.  They  at  once  ruled  out  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  Moses  having  anything  to  do  with  the  authorship 
of  these  documents,  and  proceeded  by  inspection  to  assign 
dates  to  each  of  the  four.  Accordingly,  the  J  document 
would  represent  the  religious  and  social  conditions  of 
Israel  about  856  to  800  B.  C.,  the  E  document  representing 
the  somewhat  later  development,  say,  800  to  750  B.  C.,  the 
D  document,  the  conditions  surrounding  the  reforms  under 
Josiah,  621  B.  C.,  and  the  P  document,  the  conditions  which 
prevailed  under  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  when  they  promul¬ 
gated  “The  Book  of  the  Law”  in  444  B.  C.  According  to 
this  theory  the  oldest  of  these  four  documents  was  written 
at  least  550  years  after  the  Exodus  took  place,  and  the 
most  recent  of  the  four  about  a  thousand  years.  It  fol¬ 
lows,  then,  that  the  authors  projected  their  writings  back 
into  the  remote  past,  each  one  seeking  facts  to  substan¬ 
tiate  his  view  of  the  religious  condition  of  Israel  at  the  time 
of  writing. 

It  was  speedily  pointed  out  that  there  were  hundreds 
of  passages  which  could  not,  in  fair  laws  of  criticism,  be 
referred  to  the  dates  assumed,  and  then  began  the  more 
minute  dissection  of  these  larger  documents  into  what  was 
claimed  to  be  their  component  parts,  until,  instead  of  four 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  221 


main  documents,  there  are  at  least  nine,  with  the  possibilities 
of  this  number  being  increased.  This  process  was  contin¬ 
ued  until  the  results  remind  one  of  the  cycles  and  epicycles 
which  drove  the  ancient  astronomers  almost  mad,  until  the 
Ptolemaic  system  was  almost  beyond  the  power  of  any 
ordinary  mind  to  understand ;  all  of  which  was  cleared  and 
swept  away  when  once  the  center  of  the  universe  was  trans¬ 
ferred  from  the  earth  to  the  sun.  If  Moses  were  living 
to-day  he  would  have  a  much  harder  time  in  getting  through 
this  documentary  and  evolutionary  theory  than  he  had  in 
getting  through  the  wilderness.  The  process  of  dissection 
and  multiplication  was  continued  until  the  results  nullified 
and  contradicted  each  other  to  such  an  extent  that  Moses 
as  an  historical  character  was  abandoned,  the  route  of  the 
Exodus  and  the  Exodus  itself  denied  all  standing  as  his¬ 
tory.  The  same  process  of  dissection  and  multiplication 
and  absurdity  has  recently  reached  its  ultima  thule  in  the 
denial  of  the  historical  character  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  same 
process  of  reasoning  and  method  of  procedure  would  an¬ 
nihilate  every  well-known  character  in  history. 

This  evolutionary  hypothesis,  like  many  another  theory 
born  or  made  in  Germany,  is  destined  to  live  35  or  40  years 
and  then  die.  Very  frequently  such  theories  are  shorter 
lived  in  Germany,  but  continue  to  flourish  in  other  countries 
long  after  they  are  dead  in  Germany.  So,  for  about  40 
years,  this  class  of  critics  have  been  wandering  in  this 
wilderness  of  their  own  making,  and  they  will  continue  to 
wander  so  long  as  they  insist  upon  reading  so  much  “into” 
the  Bible  that  was  never  there.  In  plain  English,  it  is  a 
delusion  into  which  many  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
modern  scholars  seem  to  have  fallen,  and  from  which  no 
one  but  the  historical  Moses  can  deliver  them.  This 
attempt  to  separate  the  fragments  of  older  documents  and 
locate  them  chronologically  according  to  the  simpler  or 
more  complex  forms  of  religious  or  social  life  is  a  test 
even  more  dangerous  than  that  of  distinguishing  the 


222 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


original  documents  according  to  their  use  of  the  Divine 
names.  Able  scholars  are  following  up  these  delusive 
deductions  and  undoing  as  rapidly  as  possible  the  evil 
which  has  already  resulted. 

If  this  were  the  place  for  such  discussions,  one  might 
give  a  hundred  shining  examples  of  where  they  have  failed 
to  face  the  real  problems,  where  they  have  glossed  over 
difficulties  and  where  they  have  been  absolutely  incor¬ 
rect  and  mistaken.  This  same  process  which  they  have 
claimed  as  valid  in  dealing  with  the  Old  Testament  docu¬ 
ments  would  not  be  tolerated  or  possible  in  dealing  with 
problems  which  lie  this  side  of  the  invention  of  printing, 
because  they  would  be  so  speedily  detected  and  exposed. 
A  good  example  of  this  kind  is  furnished  by  the  work  of  a 
recent  critic,  named  Wilhelm  Scherer,  in  an  article  entitled 
“Faust’s  Erster  Monolog”  (Faust’s  First  Monologue). 
It  was  printed  first  in  the  “Goethe  Jahrbuch”  (Goethe 
Year  Book),  Vol.  VI,  1885,  and  was  subsequently  published 
in  a  volume  which  appeared  in  1886  under  the  title  Wil¬ 
helm  Scherer:  “Aufsatze  fiber  Goethe”  (Essays  on  Goethe). 
The  article  exists  only  in  German  and  deals  with  a  passage 
in  the  second  part  of  Faust,  which  Scherer  claimed  was  the 
amalgamation  of  two  different  passages,  one  written  in 
Goethe’s  youth  and  the  other  later,  with  the  line  of  cleavage 
clearly  traceable.  But  the  evidence  of  Goethe’s  residuum 
is  overwhelming  that  the  whole  passage  was  written  at  one 
time  in  Goethe’s  later  life. 

A  still  more  striking  example  is  connected  with  the  at¬ 
tempt  to  deal  with  the  code  of  Hammurabi  on  this  evolu¬ 
tionary  basis.  According  to  the  critics,  the  Mosaic  code 
is  a  growth  and  accumulation  of  laws  and  customs  and 
usages,  some  of  which  may  have  existed  at  the  time  of 
Moses,  but  which  was  thrown  into  its  present  form  at  the 
dates  referred  to,  i.  e .,  after  800  B.  C.  But  Hammurabi’s 
code,  differing  in  very  important  respects,  resembling  in 
still  more  important  respects,  was  in  existence  at  least  800 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  223 


years  before  the  date  of  the  Exodus,  that  is,  900  years  be¬ 
fore  the  Mosaic  code  was  put  into  its  present  shape  by 
Moses  himself  or  his  immediate  contemporaries.  Ham¬ 
murabi’s  reign,  according  to  the  most  recent  and  accurate 
calculation,  began  about  1975  B.  C.  The  discovery  of 
this  code  and  its  publication  has  brought  consternation 
into  many  schools  of  higher  critics.  In  the  first  place,  it 
sheds  an  interesting  light  on  the  older  dates  assigned  to  the 
documents  of  the  Hexateuch,  because  it  is  shown  with  rea¬ 
sonable  conclusiveness  that  while  the  influence  of  Ham¬ 
murabi’s  code  on  the  making  of  the  Mosaic  code  was  pos¬ 
sible  in  the  15th  century  at  Sinai,  it  was  impossible  in  the 
8th  century  at  the  time  claimed  by  the  evolutionary  hy¬ 
pothesis  as  the  date  of  those  manuscripts.  Secondly,  it  de¬ 
feats  the  supposition  that  once  prevailed,  which  claimed  the 
impossibility  of  such  a  code  as  the  Mosaic  existing  in  the 
days  of  Moses  because  the  whole  state  of  the  Children  of 
Israel  and  the  surrounding  nations  would  not  allow  of  it 
legally  or  intellectually.  Thirdly,  a  careful  study  of  the 
code  of  Hammurabi  shows  clearly  that  it,  900  years  before 
the  Exodus,  was  not  the  result  of  any  continuous  evolution 
of  the  law  in  a  homogeneous  and  progressive  people,  but 
an  adaptation  of  widely  distinct  systems,  because  a  large 
part  of  its  stipulations  take  for  granted  the  existence  of  an 
aristocracy  and  of  several  grades  of  people.  This  aristoc¬ 
racy  clung  to  many  primitive  ideas  of  justice  in  their  deal¬ 
ing  with  the  lower  grades  of  subjects,  while  employing  the 
higher  code  in  their  dealings  with  each  other. 

Another  curious  inference,  which  seems  almost  forced 
upon  us,  is  this,  that  the  whole  situation  as  revealed  by  the 
code  of  Hammurabi  points  to  an  aristocracy,  presumably 
a  recent  infusion  of  a  wilder  Semitic  race,  which  had  amal¬ 
gamated  with  an  ancient  and  already  partly  Semitic  people. 
This  inference,  in  turn,  throws  a  curious  light  upon  the 
origin  of  the  Mosaic  code,  which,  according  to  all  credible 
and  reasonable  deductions,  was  not  the  creation  of  Moses’ 


224 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


brain,  but  the  codification  of  ideas  and  customs  extending 
far  beyond  his  day  into  the  remote  past  of  the  progenitors 
of  the  Semitic  people.  The  lack  of  any  signs  of  incomplete¬ 
ness  in  Hammurabi’s  code  relieves  us  of  all  responsibility 
requiring  us  to  justify  the  possibility  of  the  Mosaic  code 
at  the  date  claimed  for  it  at  Sinai,  and  in  the  plains  of  Moab 
beyond,  during  the  period  of  the  Exodus. 

PART  III.— THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  HEXATEUCH 

Once  again  the  difficulties  of  this  whole  situation  are 
relieved  by  a  return  to  simple,  wholesome  common  sense  in 
dealing  with  all  the  facts  involved.  The  documentary  hy¬ 
pothesis  places  before  us  vividly  the  apparent  discrepancies 
in  the  different  documents  and  gives  some  explanation 
thereof,  however  unsatisfactory  such  explanation  may 
prove  to  be.  We  do  not  claim  that  it  does  “remove”  all 
the  difficulties  and  contradictions  or  inconsistencies  which 
seem  to  exist,  but  we  do  claim  that  every  advance  in  real 
knowledge  concerning  the  period  of  the  Exodus  is  throwing 
an  immense  amount  of  light  upon  all  these  problems. 

But,  while  waiting  for  this  increasing  light  and  confir¬ 
mation  of  Biblical  records,  we  relieve  our  minds  com¬ 
pletely  of  anxiety  or  disturbance  by  recurring  at  all  times 
to  the  real  purpose  of  the  Hexateuch.  The  unbroken  tra¬ 
ditions  of  all  the  Hebrew  literature  and  records  is  that 
Moses  was  the  founder  of  the  Hebrew  faith,  and  the  Hexa¬ 
teuch  in  its  present  form  bears  on  its  face  the  evidence  of 
having  been  compiled  for  the  sole  purpose  of  recording 
God’s  dealings  with  men.  It  does  not  assume  to  be  a 
treatise  of  history,  geography,  biography  or  any  other 
science.  We  cannot,  therefore,  expect  to  find  in  it  exact 
scientific  terminology  and  method.  An  historical  or  a 
geographical  misunderstanding  in  our  Hexateuch  may 
thus  be  freely  admitted  where  the  avowed  purpose  is  solely 
to  record  the  transactions  which  have  happened  between 
God  and  man.  It  is  not  contrary  to  any  orthodox  belief 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  225 

in  the  doctrine  of  inspiration  to  admit  the  human  factor  in 
the  composition  of  the  Bible  records,  because  inspiration, 
after  all,  is  the  self-revelation  of  God  through  the  Holy- 
Ghost  to  many  minds,  and  Holy  Writ  is  a  more  or  less 
perfect  record  of  that  self-revelation.  It  is  not  at  all  in¬ 
conceivable  that,  when  the  documents  of  an  earlier  age 
came  to  be  incorporated  into  one,  after  the  lapse  of  many 
centuries,  this  process  should  have  caused  more  or  less 
confusion;  that  the  records  of  different  events  which  were 
similar  might  easily  be  regarded  as  different  accounts  of 
the  same  event,  or  that  the  different  accounts  of  a  single 
event  might  become  separated  and  regarded  as  records 
of  distinct  events.  All  this  is  possible  when  we  regard  the 
books  of  the  Hexateuch  as  compiled  under  the  inspiration 
of  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  solely  for  the  purpose  of  recording 
God’s  revelation  of  himself.  The  moral  and  spiritual  tone 
of  the  book  is  the  best  evidence  of  its  own  inspiration,  but 
we  may  also  add  that  its  extraordinary  truthfulness  to 
human  nature  and  to  Oriental  life  creates  an  impression  in 
favor  of  its  trustworthiness  at  all  points;  the  consistency 
of  its  contents  with  the  subsequent  history  and  religious 
thought  of  later  Hebrew  history  helps  to  confirm  this  im¬ 
pression.  The  fact  of  inspiration,  however,  once  admitted 
on  the  higher  level  of  moral  and  spiritual  tone,  rightly 
carries  influence  over  into  details  of  fact,  and  turns  the 
balance  on  the  side  of  truthfulness  and  trustworthiness  in 
all  minor  details. 

The  attitude  of  a  very  large  number  of  critics  to-day,  who 
stand  about  the  Hexateuch  ready  to  dissect  and  divide 
and  destroy,  resemble  a  gathering  of  botanists  and  chemists 
and  physicists  quarreling  over  the  remains  of  some  beau¬ 
tiful  rose  or  flower.  The  chemist  has  crushed  it  to  an  un¬ 
recognizable  pulp,  in  which  he  searches  for  the  protoplasm 
and  the  pigments  which  were  its  life  and  beauty  as  a  flower; 
the  botanist  has  torn  it  into  shreds  searching  for  its  pistils, 
its  stamens,  its  seed,  in  order  to  stretch  it  upon  the  frame  of 

15 


226 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


his  procrustean  system;  while  the  physicist,  objecting  to 
the  chemist’s  suggestion  concerning  the  pigments,  argues 
in  regard  to  the  various  theories  of  light  in  the  production 
of  color — all  for  the  time  being  have  lost  every  pleasurable 
conception  of  the  beauty  of  the  rose  as  a  flower.  So  it 
seems  that  the  critics  of  the  Hexateuch  wander  away  from 
the  purpose  of  this  unique  record  of  God’s  revelation  to 
man.  But  we  are  thankful  to  God  that  999  out  of  every 
thousand  readers  of  the  Hexateuch  are  much  more  concerned 
with  the  beauty  of  its  purpose  and  meaning,  rather  than 
with  the  mistaken,  if  not  hostile,  criticism  of  its  parts,  and 
when  pressed  by  still  another  class  of  critics  who  demand 
the  reason  for  our  belief  in  its  inspiration,  we  may  answer : 
“We  do  not  deny  the  ‘existence’  of  light,  the  ‘effects’  of 
light,  and  the  ‘transmission’  of  light,  because  we  cannot 
prove  the  existence  of  the  ‘ether’  which  science  has  pos¬ 
tulated  as  the  medium  through  which  light  waves  are 
brought  into  contact  with  our  mechanical  organ  of  vision, 
and  through  that,  by  some  unknown  process,  into  our 
seeing  and  thinking  soul.  No  more  shall  we  deny  the 
existence  of  God,  His  power  of  self-revelation,  His  contact 
with  the  human  soul,  because  we  cannot  explain  the  mode 
of  inspiration,  which  is  the  ‘ether’  of  the  thinkable,  reas¬ 
onable,  religious  life  of  man.” 

PART  IV.— THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  DOCUMENTARY 

HYPOTHESIS 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  writers  or  com¬ 
pilers  of  the  Old  Testament  documents  made  no  use  of  quo¬ 
tation  marks,  even  when  they  quoted  the  exact  words  of 
earlier  documents  which  were  in  their  hands  at  the  moment 
of  writing.  In  fact,  there  are  many  reasons  to  believe  that 
in  handling  these  ancient  documents  they  regarded  them  as 
too  sacred  and  too  precious  to  be  altered  in  their  smallest 
details;  they  therefore  transcribed  them  in  their  entirety, 
making  no  attempt  to  reconcile  trifling  or  even  more  im- 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  227 


portant  variations;  hence  their  instinct  and  practice  in 
thus  transcribing  literally  now  proves  to  be  one  of  the 
greatest  possible  advantages  to  modern  critical  studies. 

If,  as  according  to  more  extreme  writers,  the  J  document 
dates  from  the  9th  century  B.  C.,  and  the  E  document  from 
the  earlier  part  of  the  8th  century,  and  D  from  621  B.  C., 
about  the  time  of  Josiah,  and  P  in  its  main  stock  from  the 
age  of  Ezekiel  and  the  exile,  570  B.  C. ;  and  taking  their  date 
of  the  Exodus  as  1230  B.  C.,  then  it  follows  that  P  was 
written  560  years  after  the  Exodus;  E,  400;  and  J,  300. 
The  Bible  account  of  the  Exodus  then  would  be  as  though 
one  of  our  living  historians  should  write  the  finest  account 
of  Columbus  and  his  enterprise,  his  voyage  and  his  discovery 
of  America,  and  that  this  in  time  should  be  adopted  as  the 
true  national  account.  According  to  this  theor}/  some  pious 
soul  might  easily  write  to-day  a  “Blessing  of  Columbus,” 
including  in  his  supposed  forecast  all  the  characteristics 
which  we  pleasantly  attribute  to  the  “Yankee”  of  the  East, 
the  “Colored  South”  and  the  “Wild  and  Woolly  West,” 
but  which  characteristics,  instead  of  being  prophecies, 
are  simply  the  recorded  results  of  observation  made  during 
the  400  years  which  have  elapsed  since  the  discovery  of 
the  New  World. 

We  are  all  familiar  from  childhood  with  the  Biblical 
phrase  “the  Law  and  the  Prophets”  so  often  used  by  Christ 
and  other  writers  of  the  New  Testament.  In  order  to 
free  our  minds  from  certain  misconceptions  which  cling 
to  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  now  divided  and 
named,  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuter¬ 
onomy  and  Joshua,  we  must  think  of  the  Hexateuch  as 
one  great  document  called  the  “Law.”  As  already  re¬ 
ferred  to,  the  present  names  and  divisions  are  largely  acci¬ 
dents  connected  with  the  ancient  division  of  manuscripts 
into  rolls  that  could  be  handled  and  named  from  their 
first  word  or  paragraph.  Now,  within  this  combination  of 
documents  there  are  references  to  still  other  documents,  as 


228 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


can  be  learned  by  looking  into  any  concordance  under  the 
word  “book.” 

Genesis  5:  1  is  the  first  case  in  point:  “This  is  the  book 
of  the  generations  of  Adam.”  It  is  clear  that  this  marks  the 
beginning  of  some  more  ancient  document  embodied  in 
.what  we  call  the  book  of  Genesis.  But  while  the  begin¬ 
ning  is  clearly  marked,  there  is  great  difficulty  to  say  just 
where  the  ancient  “book”  ends.  The  phrase  “these  are 
the  generations  of”  is  repeated  ten  times  in  Genesis  and 
nowhere  else  in  the  Hexateuch,  so  it  has  been  suggested 
that  these  sections  formed  an  ancient  “book  of  genealo¬ 
gies”  which  has  been  called  the  Toledo th  book. 

Exodus  17  :  14  records  a  cardinal  fact,  where  Moses  is 
told  to  “Write  this  for  a  memorial  in  a  book”  for  Joshua. 
This  may  be  the  beginning  of  the  “Law  of  Moses.”  Exodus 
24  :  7  mentions  the  “book  of  the  covenant,”  which  is  thought 
to  be  a  reference  to  the  ten  commandments  only.  Num¬ 
bers  5 :  23  directs  the  priest  to  write  the  curses  in  a  book. 
Numbers  21:14  makes  a  definite  reference  to  another  “book 
of  the  wars  of  the  Lord.”  Deuteronomy  has  nine  references 
to  the  “book  of  the  law,”  this  “book  of  the  law,”  which  is 
reasonably  referred  to  the  document  itself  which  we  know 
as  Deuteronomy.  Joshua  refers  to  the  “book  of  the  law,” 
which  we  may  reasonably  suppose  to  be  the  book  referred 
to  in  Exodus  17  :  14,  and  to  which  book  Joshua  makes 
additions  when  the  people  made  a  new  covenant  at  She- 
chem  (Joshua  24:  26).  In  Joshua  18:  19  the  spies  de¬ 
scribed  the  promised  land  “by  cities  in  seven  parts  in  a  book,” 
which  is  the  survey  recorded  in  Joshua.  In  Joshua  10:  13 
there  is  a  reference  to  the  “book  of  Jasher,”  of  which  we 
now  have  no  trace.  So  here  are  at  least  2  2  references  with¬ 
in  the  Hexateuch  to  at  least  six  different  books.  One  of 
these  books  was  clearly  a  book  of  genealogies,  another 
was  “of  the  wars  of  the  Lord.”  That  referred  to  in  Exodus 
17:  14  is  clearly  the  original  book  of  the  law,  of  which  the 
“book  of  the  Covenant”  may  or  may  not  have  been  an 


I 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  229 

Integral  part.  Now  it  is  perfectly  reasonable  and  simple 
to  think  of  two  or  a  half-dozen  written  rolls  in  the  hands  of 
Moses,  guarded  with  jealous  care  and  passed  on  to  Joshua, 
who  added  to  them  until  they  found  a  final  resting-place  in 
Shechem  and  other  sanctuaries  in  the  Promised  Land. 
Some  of  these  may  have  been  lost,  and  one  of  them  at  least 
was  found  when  the  temple  was  cleaned  in  the  days  of 
Josiah,  as  recorded  in  2  Kings  22:8  and  2  Chronicles 
34:  15.  We  have  already  pointed  out  the  fact  (p.  76) 
that  there  is  no  difficulty  involved  as  to  the  art  of  writing, 
neither  is  there  any  as  to  the  materials.  Skins  were  used 
before  parchment  came  into  general  use  at  the  time  of  the 
XII  Dynasty  (3400-1800  B.  C.),  and  it  is  certain  that  both 
were  well  known  and  in  general  use  for  many  hundred  years 
before  the  Exodus. 

When  we  step  from  the  Hexateuch  into  the  historical 
books  the  references  to  “  books”  are  multiplied  a  hundred¬ 
fold,  and  many  of  them  come  to  have  the  value  of  technical 
terms,  such  as  “The  Shepherd  of  Hermas”  or  the  “Teach¬ 
ing  of  the  Twelve  Apostles”  or  the  “Code  of  Hammurabi” 
would  to  us. 

Taking,  then,  the  scriptural  term,  “the  law  of  Moses”  or 
“the  law  of  Jahweh,”  as  embodying  the  most  important 
subject  in  the  Pentateuch  or  Hexateuch,  scholars  have 
sought  for  the  “code”  or  “codes”  as  the  most  important 
item  in  these  documents,  and  thus  the  most  recent  investi¬ 
gation  becomes  easily  intelligible  to  the  lay  mind.  That 
designated  by  the  “code”  is  seen  to  be  the  core  of  the  reve¬ 
lation,  and  the  document  as  a  whole  includes  other  histor¬ 
ical  matter  woven  about  the  code. 

Regarding  what  has  preceded  as  explanatory,  I  now  pro¬ 
pose  to  give  briefly  what  I  understand  to  be  the  most 
reasonable  and  substantial  results  of  this  later  investiga¬ 
tion.  There  are  still  many  variations  and  difficulties  to 
be  solved,  but  the  main  results  are  reasonably  sure.  The 
apparent  conflict  at  certain  important  points  can  well 


230 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


be  left  for  later  light,  which  is  sure  to  come,  taking  the  re¬ 
sults  of  the  past  ten  years  as  an  index  for  the  coming  dec¬ 
ade.  Those  who  wish  to  follow  the  more  intricate  state¬ 
ments  of  these  problems  will  do  well  to  read  the  brilliant 
book  already  referred  to,  Toffteen’s  “Historical  Exodus,” 
from  page  63  and  onward. 

Taking  the  documents  in  their  accepted  order  chrono¬ 
logically,  the  following  are  some  of  the  tangible  results: 
The  chief  contents  of  the  document  designated  P  are  now 
supposed  to  be  made  up  of  the  original  “Toledoth,”  or 
“book  of  genealogies,”  and  another  document  called  “the 
book  of  the  law  of  Jahweh.”  As  already  referred  to,  such 
a  book  of  genealogies  is  mentioned  in  Genesis  5:1,  and  the 
formula  “these  are  the  generations  of”  occurs  ten  times  in 
Genesis  and  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  Pentateuch. 

In  regard  to  the  date  of  P,  it  cannot  be  assigned  to  the 
exilic  or  post-exilic  periods  because  it  was  in  part  the  basis 
of  the  reforms  of  Josiah,  621  B.  C.  It  was  appealed  to  in 
the  time  of  Hezekiah,  circa  700  B.  C.,  and  was  apparently 
well  known  to  the  prophets  of  that  time,  Amos  and  Isaiah. 
It  seems  to  have  been  the  basis  of  a  missionary  propaganda 
by  the  Levites  in  the  time  of  Jehoshaphat,  circa  873  B.  C., 
and  was  well  known  to  his  father  Asa.  Solomon  and  even 
David  worshipped  on  the  basis  of  its  rules  and,  finally, 
Saul  carried  out  his  reforms  on  the  basis  of  its  laws.  The 
conclusion,  then,  seems  unavoidable  that  the  P  document 
and  code  existed  in  written  form  as  early  as  the  time  of 
Saul  and  Samuel. 

No  claim  can  be  made  regarding  its  completeness;  here 
and  there  it  is  fragmentary  to  such  an  extent  that  it  would 
give  no  sense  if  read  by  itself.  Its  peculiarity  of  language 
and  apparent  purpose  warrants  the  suggestion  that  it  may 
be  a  literary  product  of  the  tribe  of  Levi. 

Out  of  at  least  seven  different  documents,  of  which  frag¬ 
ments  appear  in  the  Hexateuch,  none  of  them  is  complete 
except  the  original  D,  which  is  our  Deuteronomy.  It  is 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  231 


more  than  probable  that  this  is  the  document  referred  to 
many  times  as  the  “law  of  Moses,”  and  is  the  substance  of 
what  was  given  in  the  plains  of  Moab  near  Madeba,  just 
before  Nebo.  By  common  consent  it  has  been  identified 
as  the  lawbook  found  in  the  18th  year  of  Josiah,  622-621 
B.  C.,  and  it  is  part  of  the  critical  hypothesis  that  the  D 
document  is  older  than  the  P  document,  for  the  internal  evi¬ 
dence  seems  to  point  that  way.  Being  a  unit  in  itself,  it 
presents  a  peerless  subject  for  testing  the  theories  and  hy¬ 
potheses  concerning  documents.  The  identification  of 
this  document  with  the  law  book  found  by  Josiah,  together 
with  other  evidence,  external  and  internal,  makes  it  ex¬ 
tremely  probable  that  as  a  document  it  dates  back  to  the 
time  of  Joshua  (1407),  bringing  it  within  just  70  years  of 
the  date  of  the  Exodus. 

The  E  document,  by  the  consent  of  all  modern  critics, 
is  older  than  D,  mainly  because  the  laws  and  institutions 
of  its  code  belong  to  a  more  primitive  state  of  society. 

Technical  terms  having  already  been  found  justifying 
the  identification  of  parts  of  P  with  the  “Law  of  Jahweh” 
and  D  with  the  “Law  of  Moses,”  it  is  suggested  that  the 
E  code  is  the  “Law  of  Elohim,”  mentioned  in  Joshua 
24:  26,  27,  and  of  which  the  “Book  of  the  Covenant,”  con¬ 
taining  Exodus  20:  2-17  and  Exodus  21-23,  was  a  Part. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  more 
careful  investigation  has  largely  obliterated  the  differences 
between  the  J  documents,  and  since  the  J  code,  if  there 
be  one,  is  only  one- sixth  of  the  length  of  the  E  code,  and 
both  claim  to  belong  to  the  same  time  and  occasion,  there¬ 
fore  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  both  go  back,  as  the 
Bible  itself  asserts  (Exodus  17:  14),  to  a  period  40  years 
before  D,  which  means  that  the  law  of  Elohim  is  the  E  code 
given  at  Sinai  or  Horeb. 

“The  E  document  is  not  a  document,  but  a  collection 
of  fragments  of  what  was  once  a  document ;  that  the  code, 
too,  is  not  a  complete  code,  but  also  fragmentary,  and  es- 


232  From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 

pecially  wanting  in  the  “  statutes”  which  once  belonged 
to  it,  but  which  have  been  lost ;  that  the  E  code  provided 
for  a  non-Levi tical  priesthood;  that  in  the  period  of  the 
judges  and  the  early  monarchy  the  presence  of  this  non- 
Levitical  priesthood  shows  the  general  use  of  the  E  code 
all  over  Israel;  that  it  is  probable  that  at  the  division  of 
the  kingdom  the  E  code  with  its  non-Levitical  priesthood 
became  peculiarly  the  law  of  the  Northern  Kingdom;  and 
that  the  E  code  shows  a  remarkable  similarity  to  the  code 
of  Hammurabi.  In  all  of  these  things  we  can  find  no  con¬ 
tradiction,  but,  on  the  contrary,  confirmation,  and  the  con¬ 
clusion  that  the  E  document  is  to  be  assigned  to  a  date 
much  earlier  than  that  generally  given  by  the  critics,  and 
that  quite  probably  it  belongs  to  the  time  when  it  purports 
to  have  been  delivered,  namely,  the  stop  at  Horeb,  when 
Moses  and  the  people  received  it  at  Yahweh’s  hands.”1 

There  may  be  no  J  code  in  the  Hexateuch,  but  only 
fragments  of  a  J  document.  If  any  J  code  ever  existed  it 
seems  to  have  been  dropped  in  favor  of  the  E  code  at  some 
compilation  made  in  after  years.  It  is  admitted  on  all 
hands  that  in  large  sections  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  Numbers 
and  Joshua,  J  and  E  have  been  so  completely  fused  to¬ 
gether  that  it  is  now  impossible  to  divide  them.  Relating 
the  same  history  and  the  same  events,  their  separation 
could  satisfy  nothing  but  a  literary  curiosity. 

So  it  comes  to  pass  in  the  matter  of  the  documents,  as 
in  the  chronology,  that  the  larger  numbers  of  documents 
and  fragments  are  being  reduced  and  brought  within 
the  limits  set  by  the  Bible  itself.  As,  in  the  past,  neither 
side  of  the  radical  controversialists  has  won  the  victory; 
the  truth  has  been  found  somewhere  between  them  and 
not  exactly  what  either  contended  for.  But  every  extension 
of  real  knowledge  enhances  the  value  of  the  Bible,  increases 
its  beauty  and  approves  its  substantial  accuracy  even  in 
unimportant  details.  As  for  its  inspiration  I  turn  to  the 
lToffteen’s  “Historical  Exodus,”  p.  117. 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  233 


19th  Psalm,  and  say  that  when  I  can  be  led  to  believe  that 
man  built  the  sun  and  arranged  the  heavens,  then  I  can 
believe  also  that  these  most  ancient  Biblical  documents 
are  a  record  of  human  brain-work  unaided  by  the  spirit 
and  presence  of  God.  The  contents,  the  problems,  the 
teachings,  the  claims,  the  facts  have  no  counterpart  in 
merely  human  productions. 

Having  said  so  much,  I  can  now  say  without  fear  of  being 
misunderstood  that  the  imperfections  of  human  handiwork 
cling  to  the  mechanical  book.  There  probably  never  ex¬ 
isted  a  perfect  manuscript,  any  more  than  there  now  exists 
a  perfect  Bible  in  any  language.  And  our  knowledge  of 
that  ancient  Hebrew  language  is  not  so  complete  as  we 
once  proudly  supposed  it  to  be.  The  wider  study  of  kin¬ 
dred  Semitic  tongues,  especially  the  Arabic,  has  enlarged 
the  circle  of  the  unknown.  The  difficulties  are  not  found 
in  its  peculiar  alphabet,  nor  in  the  flection  of  the  words, 
nor  yet  in  the  syntax  of  the  language.  One  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  lies  in  the  meaning  and  sometimes  conflicting 
meanings  that  Hebrew  words  possess.  This  is  not  hard 
to  understand  when  we  remember  that  the  written  docu¬ 
ments  extend  over  an  interval  of  at  least  1200  years  and 
some  of  the  embedded  fragments  may  go  back  much  farther. 
To  attempt  to  construe  the  whole  Old  Testament  as  though 
the  language  were  all  from  one  period  or  division  of  the 
Hebrew  people  must  result  in  many  real  difficulties. 
We  know  something  of  the  changes  inevitable  in  every 
living  language  from  the  shorter  history  of  our  own,  which 
has  had  all  the  immeasurable  advantages  of  printing  to 
keep  our  tongue  from  confusion.  The  varied  meanings 
of  the  simplest  Hebrew  words  can  easily  be  understood 
and  illustrated  from  any  Arabic  dictionary,  where  the  same 
difficult  development  has  taken  place. 

Then,  too,  the  study  of  the  Babylonian  and  Egyptian 
languages  brings  into  view  another  important  considera¬ 
tion.  Just  as  Hebrew  life  and  history  and  religion  were  in- 


234 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


fluenced  and  modified  by  the  great  surrounding  nations,  so 
also  their  language  bears  within  it  the  influences  and  echoes 
of  many  languages  through  those  many  centuries,  just  as 
English  bears  the  marks  of  its  complex  origin  and  contact 
with  every  other  language  of  the  Christian  era.  Some  of 
our  simpler  scholars  take  for  granted  now  and  then  that 
all  such  questions  can  be  settled  by  the  “dictionary,” 
forgetting  for  the  moment  that  we  are  working  in  a  region 
where  all  dictionaries  fail  us  and  where  we  are  continually 
securing  fresh  facts  which  must  modify  and  change  the 
dictionaries  themselves.  The  best  dictionaries  at  any 
period  are  always  somewhat  behind  the  best  information 
available,  and  are  in  every  case  the  views  of  a  limited  num¬ 
ber  of  scholars  in  that  field. 

Historicity 

I  am  ready,  therefore,  to  record  my  conviction  that  the 
Biblical  stories  of  the  Exodus  are  reliable  even  to  the  most 
minute  details,  except  where  later  compilers  have  blundered 
or  copyists  have  miscopied  or  misunderstood  the  meaning 
of  the  words  they  used.  This  means  that  I  heartily  agree 
with  those  who  are  convinced1  that  the  Biblical  account 
of  the  Exodus  is  “  absolutely  historical  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word  and  trustworthy  in  its  evidence,  even  to  de¬ 
tails,  contrary  to  the  usual  modern  hypothesis.” 

Critics  seated  thousands  of  miles  away  in  distance  and 
three  thousand  years  later  in  time  have  formulated  doubts 
and  queries,  have  raised  imaginary  difficulties,  which  vanish 
into  thin  air  when  the  observant  traveller  enters  the  al¬ 
most  changeless  peninsula  of  Sinai  with  his  Bible  in  his 
hand.  Some  have  gone  so  far  as  to  deny  that  the  inspired 
writers  had  the  Sinai  region  in  mind.  Nothing  could  be 
more  grotesque  and  farther  from  the  truth.  The  Bible 
writers  plainly  knew  that  country  as  well  as  George 

^offteen’s  “Historical  Exodus,”  p.  279. 


The  Problem  as  Related  to  the  Documents  235 


Washington  ever  knew  the  country  between  Boston  and 
Yorktown,  and  the  writer,  after  26  years  in  Bible  lands  and 
many  journeys  into  these  more  remote  portions,  would 
record  his  conviction  that  the  geography  of  the  Bible  fits 
the  land  as  the  key  fits  the  lock,  and  each  succeeding 
generation  of  men  will  realize  this  more  clearly. 

Results 

t 

Now  there  are  three  ways  of  studying  these  ancient 
records:  (1)  The  dogmatic  way,  where  people  take  a  stand 
upon  their  childhood  memories  and  imaginations  and  seem 
unable  to  accept  any  other  view.  (2)  The  simple  text 
reading  and  text  matching  method,  which  is  carried  to  im¬ 
possible  conclusions  under  some  one  ruling  idea,  e.  g., 
making  the  use  of  the  names  of  God  the  main  determining 
idea.  (3)  The  vital  way,  that  is,  truth  set  in  the  light  of 
daily  life  and  the  real  records  of  human  society.  Linking 
the  Land  with  the  Book,  as  did  Dr.  Thomson  40  years  ago, 
will  again  produce  an  overwhelming  impression  that  the 
book  fits  the  life  and  the  land  and  man’s  relations  to  God. 

Too  much  has  been  made  of  the  composite  nature  of  the 
Pentateuch  and  of  wholly  erroneous  conclusions  drawn  from 
fragmentary  data.  The  best  Egyptologists  now  accept 
Moses  as  an  historical  character,  and  his  education  in  Egypt 
makes  it  certain  that  he  and  those  about  him  were  well  ac¬ 
customed  to  writing.  They  also  accept  the  fact  that  the 
Israelites  sojourned  in  Egypt  and  that  an  Exodus  from  there 
to  Palestine  took  place.  The  duplications  and  variations 
in  the  text  of  Genesis  and  Exodus,  once  the  despair  of  the 
literalists,  now  are  seen  to  be  the  strongest  proofs  that 
written  documents  were  before  the  editors  of  the  Hexa- 
teuch,  and  that  they  were  so  ancient  and  revered  that  no 
unification  was  to  be  tolerated.  It  is  now  agreed  that  some 
of  the  Israelites  must  have  been  trained  for  the  office  of 
overseer  and  that  these  overseers  would  naturally  prepare 


236 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


registers  of  their  own  Hebrew  people.  They  would  thus 
have  been  fairly  well  acquainted  with  the  elements  of 
Egyptian  administration. 

Now  all  these  extra-Biblical  assumptions  or  results  are 
amply  justified  by  a  fair  reading  of  the  Biblical  records 
themselves.  The  converging  of  all  these  many  lines  of  in¬ 
vestigation  and  argument  centres  in  the  accuracy,  the  truth¬ 
fulness,  the  reasonableness  of  the  record  of  the  Exodus,  and 
gives  abundant  promise  of  still  more  satisfactory  results  in 
coming  years. 


view  of  the  Monastery  from  a  point  on  the  “stairway 


CHAPTER  XIX 


ASCENT  OF  JEBEL  MUSA 

But  the  greater  shrine  in  connection  with  the  Monastery 
of  St.  Katharine  is  the  ascent  of  Jebel  Musa,  which  rises 
2350  feet  above  the  Monastery.  The  “Shrine  of  the  Burn¬ 
ing  Bush”  is  supposed  to  be  the  oldest  part  of  the  ancient 
church,  and  outside  the  shrine,  carefully  fenced  with  wood 
and  wire,  is  planted  a  bush  “of  the  same  variety ,”  as  the 
old  Abbot  said  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  We  were  each 
given  two  leaves  from  this  precious  plant,  which  must 
have  a  fabulous  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  Russian  pilgrims. 

Leaving  the  Monastery  by  the  only  possible  door  (Fig. 
50),  we  passed  through  the  courtyard  and  out  of  another 
door  just  beyond  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of  the  Mon¬ 
astery  wall  (Frontispiece),  and  up  the  rough  slope  at  an 
angle  of  about  45  degrees  and  into  the  darker  shadow  at 
the  upper  left-hand  section  of  the  picture.  We  were  ac¬ 
companied  by  Brother  Gabriel,  a  young  monk  who  spoke 
considerable  Arabic,  and  two  of  the  Monastery  servants, 
who  carried  a  luncheon  for  us  and  some  candles  and  oil 
for  the  various  shrines  on  the  mountain.  The  pilgrim 
“certificate”  (Fig.  46)  and  some  old  travel  records  speak  as 
though  a  continuous  and  unbroken  stairway  led  from  the 
shrine  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  make  mention  of 
3000  steps.  There  may  be  fully  3000  blocks  of  stone  which 
have  been  placed  by  human  hands,  but  the  stairs  are  by 
no  means  uniform  or  continuous.  There  are  great  stretches 
where  none  are  needed,  but  there  are  also  great  cliffs  and 
slopes  of  the  jagged  granite  where  progress  would  be  ex¬ 
ceedingly  dangerous  and  even  impossible  without  the 

237 


238 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


stairs  built  by  the  hands  of  the  pilgrims.  There  are  no 
stairs  on  the  rough  slope  between  the  Monastery  and  where 
the  path  enters  the  deep  shadow  (Frontispiece),  but  from 
that  point  upward  for  fully  1000  feet  none  but  an  ibex 
could  climb  without  the  stairs. 

We  began  our  ascent  at  7.30  A.  m.  and  it  required  two  and 
a  half  hours  of  steady  climbing  to  reach  the  summit. 
The  day  was  somewhat  hazy,  and  through  the  haze  the 
mountains  loomed  up  in  a  wonderful  way.  In  about  half 
an  hour  we  made  our  first  halt  at  a  little  spring  in  the 
rocks.  It  is  a  little  pocket  in  the  solid  granite  into  which 
trickles  a  tiny  rill  of  clear,  cold  water.  The  Arabs  say 
Moses  here  tended  the  sheep  of  Jethro  whom  they  call 
Shu’aib,  but  the  monks  declare  that  it  issued  from  the 
rock  in  consequence  of  the  prayers  of  the  holy  Abbot 
Sangarius. 

While  resting  here  I  took  one  of  those  chance  snaps  with 
my  camera,  hardly  expecting  any  result  in  the  early  morning 
light,  and  on  my  return  to  Beirut  was  surprised  to  see  this 
gem  of  a  photo  (Fig.  47)  come  out  upon  the  film.  It  gives 
what  may  be  termed  the  back  side  of  the  Monastery, 
while  the  Panorama  45  and  the  Frontispiece  give  the  front. 
By  carefully  comparing  the  three  the  reader  will  gain  a 
little  of  the  atmosphere  of  this  sublime  valley  where  these 
rugged,  splintered  granite  precipices,  fully  1000  feet  high, 
frown  at  each  other  across  the  narrow  space  in  which  this 
lonely  monastery  has  stood  for  fully  1300  of  the  3300  years 
which  have  elapsed  since  the  Children  of  Israel  passed  that 
momentous  year  somewhere  within  a  few  hours  of  this  spot. 

After  another  half-hour  above  the  mountain  spring, 
we  reached  a  rude  chapel  dedicated  to  the  Virgin,  where 
Brother  Gabriel  lighted  tapers  and  offered  incense,  as  he 
did  in  the  other  chapels  and  shrines  beyond.  The  story 
connected  with  it  concerns  one  of  the  Oriental  pests — the 
fleas.  It  is  said  that  the  monks  once  found  the  monastery 
so  infested  that  they  meditated  upon  abandoning  it.  True 


Ascent  of  Jebel  Musa 


239 


to  their  devotion  toward  the  sacred  mountain,  they  decided 
to  make  a  final  visit  to  its  summit,  when  lo!  in  this  rocky 
ravine  the  Virgin  suddenly  appeared,  promising  them  free¬ 
dom  from  the  pest  of  fleas,  an  abundance  of  pilgrims,  and 
that  the  plague  should  never  visit  them  again.  Hence  the 
shrine  to  her  memory. 

At  the  top  of  the  steep  ascent  leading  out  of  this  ravine 
(Fig.  52)  stands  one  of  the  two  pilgrim  portals,  where  in 
other  days  the  pilgrim  was  stopped  and  confessed  on  his 
way  to  the  holy  mountain.  Beyond  this  opens  out  the 
Plain  of  the  Cyprus  (Fig.  48),  a  wide  space  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  mountain,  in  which  is  still  a  tree  or  two,  ex¬ 
tensive  tanks  for  water  and  considerable  remains  of  ancient 
buildings.  It  is  enclosed  by  bold  and  barren  masses  of 
rock  and  reddish-brown  and  gray  pinnacles  of  the  hardest 
granite.  To  the  north  rise  the  dome  heads  of  Ras  es-Suf- 
safeh,  the  famous  peak  overlooking  the  Plain  of  er  Rahah 
(see  Figs.  42  and  43).  To  the  south  rises  the  highest 
peak  of  Sinai,  the  Jebel  Musa,  which  we  had  not  before 
really  seen  from  any  point.  Its  head  is  fully  a  mile  distant 
from  the  Cyprus  tree  and  at  least  700  feet  higher  up. 
Not  many  yards  away  is  another  rude  building  which  con¬ 
tains  the  chapels  of  Elijah  and  Elisha.  Its  position  can 
be  seen  on  the  left  edge  of  the  Figure  48,  which  contains 
the  Cyprus  tree.  In  the  chapel  of  Elijah  and  near  the  altar 
the  monks  show  a  hole  just  large  enough  for  a  man’s  body, 
which  they  suppose  is  the  cave  in  which  the  prophet  dwelt 
while  visiting  Horeb. 

The  final  climb  is  up  a  steep  slope  which  has  been  relieved 
of  its  difficulty  by  another  stretch  of  the  same  rude  stairway 
of  perhaps  a  thousand  steps,  made  by  sliding  hundreds  of 
blocks  and  plates  of  granite  into  line  and  propping  them 
where  necessary  by  smaller  stones.  Before  we  reached 
the  top  a  fairly  cool  wind  was  sweeping  the  summit  and 
we  took  refuge  for  a  time  in  the  small  chapel.  The  summit 
is  a  small  area  of  some  80  feet  in  diameter,  where  stands 


240 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


the  dilapidated  chapel  once  divided  between  the  Greeks 
and  Latins.  Across  a  rocky  space  stands  a  ruined  mosque 
where  it  is  said  the  Arabs  smear  the  blood  of  their  sacrifices 
on  the  door.  It  was  hopelessly  unclean  at  our  visit. 
Under  the  mosque  is  a  grotto  and  near  the  chapel  the  re¬ 
mains  of  an  apse,  whose  church  seems  to  have  extended 
to  and  to  have  included  or  enclosed  the  grotto  itself.  Such 
a  church  is  mentioned  by  the  pilgrim  Silvia  in  the  4th 
century,  when  the  grotto  was  supposed  to  be  the  place 
where  Moses  stood  when  the  glory  of  the  Lord  passed  by 
(Exodus  32:  22).  Certainly  the  spot  is  sublime  enough 
for  any  such  event. 

The  view,  however,  is  not  an  impressive  one  compared 
with  what  travellers  tell  of  the  view  from  Serbal.  It  is 
another  instance  of  the  fact  noted  before,  that  it  is  not  al¬ 
ways  the  highest  point  of  the  mountain  from  which  we  ob¬ 
tain  the  finest  view.  There  are  too  many  nearer  peaks 
which  shut  out  the  view,  while  a  few  miles  away  to  the 
south,  apparently  a  few  thousand  yards,  rises  Jebel  Kath¬ 
arine,  a  thousand  feet  higher  than  Musa.  It  is,  however, 
a  wild  and  imposing  outlook  over  the  mountain  chain  and 
peaks  and  deep  valleys.  In  clear  weather  the  Red  Sea 
and  even  the  greater  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  can  be  seen. 
It  was  with  difficulty  that  we  made  out  the  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Akaba,  and  we  saw  nothing  of  the  Red  Sea  by 
reason  of  the  mists.  Ras  es  Sufsafeh  was  clear  and  sharp 
beneath  us  toward  the  north. 

We  had  here  a  much  better  view  of  a  curious  building 
on  one  of  the  peaks  toward  the  Red  Sea — the  Chateau  of 
Abbas  Pasha — the  story  of  which  is  told  by  Palmer  as 
follows:  “The  foreground  of  this  portion  of  the  landscape 
is  composed  of  monster  masses  of  rugged  granite,  which 
glow  like  burnished  copper  in  the  sunlight.  Among  the 
forest  of  peaks  may  be  distinguished  a  mountain,  Jebel  Tini- 
yeh,  with  a  small  white  edifice  upon  its  highest  point. 
This  is  the  half-finished  palace  of  the  late  Abbas  Pasha, 


Plain  of  the  Cyprus  and  Chapel  In  the  heart  of  Sinai 

of  Elijah 

The  only  door  to  the  Convent 


A  bit  of  Sinai’s  rugged  shoulder 


Ascent  of  Jebel  Musa 


241 


Viceroy  of  Egypt,  who  carried  his  mania  for  bricks  and 
mortar  even  into  the  wilds  of  Sinai.  Reckless  debauchery 
had  begun  to  tell  upon  the  Pasha’s  constitution,  and  his 
medical  advisers  ordered  him  to  try  the  desert  air.  He 
accordingly  set  out  with  a  number  of  troops,  and  took  up 
his  quarters  at  the  Convent  of  St.  Katharine.  Feeling  the 
beneficial  effects  of  the  pure  mountain  air,  he  determined  to 
build  a  palace  in  the  neighborhood;  and,  in  order  to  ascer¬ 
tain  which  was  the  most  salubrious  situation,  he  adopted 
the  following  original  expedient:  Joints  of  fresh  meat  were 
exposed  on  all  the  accessible  mountain  tops  around,  and 
that  on  which  the  flesh  should  remain  for  the  longest  time 
without  corruption  was  to  be  declared  the  healthiest  spot. 
The  choice  fell  upon  Jebel  Tiniyeh;  a  road  to  the  summit 
was  constructed  with  great  labor,  and  the  foundations  of 
this  palace  were  laid.  But  before  the  building  had  pro¬ 
gressed  very  far,  his  highness  changed  his  viceregal  mind, 
and,  being  influenced  by  the  fables  of  the  monks,  decided  to 
dwell  upon  the  holy  mountain  itself,  and  so  enjoy  the  benefit 
of  Moses’  special  protection,  as  well  as  the  advantages  of  the 
climate.  As  a  preliminary  measure,  a  road  was  commenced 
over  a  spur  of  the  northern  end  of  the  mountain  (Jebel 
Musa)  at  the  mouth  of  the  convent  valley.  This  again 
was  abandoned,  and  the  road  now  known  as  The  Pasha’s 
Road’  was  ultimately  constructed  at  the  southeastern 
end  of  the  block,  and  still  forms  the  most  convenient  ap¬ 
proach  to  the  summit.  Bedawin  tradition  furnishes  us 
with  the  sequel  to  the  story.  ‘The  Pasha,’  the  Arabs  say, 
‘went  up  to  the  mountain  by  the  road  which  he  had  himself 
made.  But  his  heart  was  full  of  evil  designs,  and  he  wished 
to  desecrate  the  sanctity  of  the  place.  Wherefore  our 
Lord  Moses  caught  him  before  he  reached  the  summit,  and 
shook  him  sorely,  so  that  he  came  down  again  in  a  terrible 
fright,  cursed  the  land  and  all  that  were  therein,  and  made 
the  best  of  his  way  back  to  Egypt.’  Within  a  few  weeks  of 
his  return  to  Cairo  he  was  murdered  by  a  mameluke, 
16 


242 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


whom  he  had  discovered  in  an  intrigue  with  one  of  the 
ladies  of  his  harem ;  but  the  unfinished  palace  stands  upon 
the  mountain  still — a  strange  memorial  of  human  fickle¬ 
ness  and  folly.” 

Abbas  Pasha  commenced  a  road  from  Tor  on  the  Red 
Sea  via  Wady  Hebran,  but  it  was  never  completed.  His 
camel  track  up  Jebel  Musa  from  the  end  of  the  Convent 
Valley  to  a  point  within  500  feet  of  the  summit  still  proves 
serviceable,  for  it  is  up  this  winding  road  that  the  monks 
still  bring  lime  and  timbers  to  keep  the  rude  chapels  in 
repair.  Among  other  dry  stories  of  Abbas  Pasha  is  one 
told  by  the  monks,  who  say  that  during  his  stay  at  the 
Convent  he  was  so  much  impressed  with  the  sanctity  of  the 
“Shrine  of  the  Burning  Bush”  that  he  preferred  saying  his 
daily  prayers  upon  its  soft-carpeted  floor  rather  than  pros¬ 
trate  himself  upon  the  hard  pavement  of  the  whitewashed 
mosque. 

After  an  hour  or  more  on  the  summit  we  felt  like  doing 
justice  to  Brother  Gabriel's  luncheon,  which  was  composed 
of  bread,  olives,  caviare,  halawy,  good  water,  mastique 
and  coffee.  Then  we  made  our  way  down,  loath  to  leave 
such  a  sublime  spot  so  high  above  the  burning  sands  of 
the  seashore,  so  far  away  from  the  cares  of  civilization  and 
so  close  to  the  centuries  of  the  remote  world  of  Moses  and 
the  Exodus. 

It  cost  us  two  and  a  half  hours  of  climbing  to  mount  the 
2700  feet  above  our  camp,  but  we  made  our  way  down  easily 
in  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes,  having  lifted  and  lowered 
our  own  frames  through  this  5400  feet  on  our  noiseless  and 
overtired  leg  muscles. 

Later  in  the  afternoon  the  Economos  Eugenios  and 
Brother  Gabriel  came  by  invitation  to  our  tents  for  a  cup 
of  tea  a  la  frangaise,  and  a  pleasant  visit  it  proved  to  be. 
The  elder  of  the  two  told  us  the  story  of  Arabi  Pasha’s 
rebellion  in  1882,  and  the  plan  of  certain  Moslems  at  that 
time  to  attack  and  demolish  this  ancient  monastery  and 


Jebel  Musa,  Pilgrim  Gate  and  a  bit  of  the  Stairway 


Ascent  of  Jebel  Musa 


243 


thus  wipe  out  the  last  trace  of  Christian  occupation  in  the 
peninsula.  I  was  leading  him  on  to  get  his  version  of 
Palmer’s  sad  death  at  that  time,  but  he  was  not  allowed  to 
complete  the  story  because  Sheikh  Hammadi,  the  head 
of  our  cameleers,  came  to  announce  the  arrival  of  Musa  Bu 
Nasir,  the  sheikh  of  the  sheikhs  of  the  whole  of  the  Sinai  tic 
Peninsula.  It  was  he  to  whom  Naoum  Beg  Shucair  had 
given  us  letters  of  introduction  and  which  letters  we  had 
sent  by  one  of  his  relatives  from  near  el  Buwaib.  When 
the  old  man  and  his  retainers  came  slowly  forward  we  were 
greatly  impressed  by  his  face  and  eagle  eye ;  his  unusually 
large  figure,  though  bent  with  age,  his  bearing  as  a  prince  of 
this  ancient  desert  and  his  splendid  clothing  and  beautiful 
sword.  He  would  have  made  a  perfect  artist  study  for  the 
patriarch  Abraham.  He  took  his  place  at  our  table  and,  to¬ 
gether  with  his  son,  was  served  with  tea  and  almost  every 
sweetmeat  in  our  canteen.  He  made  profuse  apologies  for 
not  having  come  sooner  his  two  days’  journey  on  camels, 
but  we  assured  him  that  we  would  inform  our  British  friends 
in  Egypt  that  nothing  had  been  left  undone  for  our  safety 
and  comfort  in  Sinai.  He  remained  for  two  days  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  Monastery  and  made  all  the  arrangements 
for  our  caravan  to  Akaba.  Mr.  Taylor  attempted  a 
photograph  of  the  truly  picturesque  circle  under  the  trees 
in  front  of  our  tents,  but  the  shadows  in  that  valley  fall 
early  and  I  have  yet  to  learn  how  successful  he  was.  Some 
of  the  monks  had  attempted  to  teach  his  son  to  read,  so 
that  he  was  almost  the  only  man  of  the  tribes  who  could 
do  anything  with  a  book.  We  gave  him  an  Arabic  Bible, 
turning  down  the  leaves  at  the  story  of  Moses  and  Sinai, 
which  he  promised  to  read.  In  doing  so  we  were  again  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  fact  of  Arabic  etiquette,  according  to 
which  the  son  never  opens  his  mouth  in  the  father’s  pres¬ 
ence  unless  commanded  to  do  so  in  answering  a  question. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  SOUL  OF  THE  HEBREW  RACE 

Sinai  is,  without  doubt,  the  birthplace  of  the  soul  of 
the  Hebrew  people,  that  standing  miracle  of  human  history. 
Now  the  soul  of  a  people  usually  lives  at  home,  and  each 
succeeding  century  of  sorrow  and  struggle  and  suffering 
renders  more  hallowed  and  sacred  the  shrines  at  which 
the  soul  of  the  nation  kneels.  The  soul  of  the  Hebrew 
people,  conceived  in  Egyptian  bondage,  born  among  the 
sublimities  of  Sinai,  carried  them  through  the  Exodus,  the 
conquest,  the  occupation  of  the  Promised  Land,  the  glories 
of  the  monarchy  and  out  again  into  exile.  And  all  the 
centuries  of  human  history  since  then  seem  but  to  repeat 
this  cycle  of  bondage,  deliverance,  promised  land,  great 
exaltation  and  then  exile.  It  wras  so  among  the  heathen 
nations  of  antiquity,  it  seems  to  be  destined  to  be  so  among 
the  nominal  Christian  nations  of  the  modern  world,  except 
in  the  lands  where  English  is  spoken  and  Evangelical  Chris¬ 
tianity  is  the  form  of  faith — England  and  the  United  States. 
Other  nations  and  peoples  have  lived  and  flourished  and 
passed  away  for  ever.  Other  peoples  have  been  driven  from 
ancestral  homes  and  in  the  course  of  centuries  have  com¬ 
pletely  forgotten  their  origin  and  history.  But  here  is  a 
people  scattered  over  the  earth  to-day,  citizens  of  many 
nations,  yet  still  fired  and  inspired  by  inextinguishable 
memories  of  the  bondage  in  Egypt,  the  Exodus,  the 
Promised  Land,  the  Monarchy  and  the  Exile;  suffering, 
struggling,  succeeding,  failing,  and  still  longing  for  and 
expecting  deliverance,  and  all  its  greatness,  its  knowledge 
of  God,  its  mission  of  law  and  prophecy  and  promised  re- 

244 


The  Soul  of  the  Hebrew  Race 


245 


demption  for  the  race  dating  back  to  Sinai.  What  can  be 
the  secret  of  this  superhuman  mission  to  the  sons  of  men? 

When  we  cast  off  the  last  link  of  our  multiplex  connec¬ 
tions  with  the  modern  world  at  Suez  and  turned  our  camels’ 
faces  to  the  desert,  we  willingly  abandoned  ourselves  to  the 
charm  and  spell  of  this  most  remote  Old  Testament  world 
with  a  hope  that  we  might  fathom  some  of  the  soul  quali¬ 
ties  of  the  Hebrew  people.  After  many  days  in  that  desert 
and  nights  beneath  its  stars  it  would  seem  as  though  I 
could  never  again  shake  myself  free  from  the  smell  of  the 
desert,  the  swing  of  the  camel,  the  loneliness  of  those  awful 
peaks  in  Sinai,  the  helplessness  of  these  hungry  Arabs,  and 
the  mystery  of  that  Hebrew  soul  born  amid  these  surround¬ 
ings.  It  must  have  been  that  some  “light  that  never  was, 
on  sea  or  land”  shined  into  that  Hebrew  soul  with  more 
than  “the  consecration  and  the  poet’s  dream”  to  bear  them 
through  the  necessities  of  their  pathetic  history.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  soul  of  a  people  is  “an  inward  life  of 
ideals,  sentiment,  ruling  passions,  embodying  itself  in  an 
outward  life  of  forms,  customs,  institutions,  relations — 
a  process  as  vital,  as  spontaneous,  as  inevitable  as  the 
growth  of  a  child  into  a  man.”  And  frequently  that  soul 
can  best  be  seen  and  understood  by  looking  through  the 
eyes  of  nature. 

Now  the  ideals,  sentiments,  ruling  passions  of  the 
Hebrew  soul  were  at  Sinai,  in  God’s  providence,  fused  and 
crystallized  into  the  laws,  customs,  and  worship  which 
have  been  the  outward  covering  of  that  soul  through  all 
Hebrew  history.  And  undoubtedly  the  silence,  the  loneli¬ 
ness,  the  isolation,  the  adamantine  fiber  of  that  primeval 
granite  entered  into  their  conceptions  of  God  and  has  kept 
them  separate,  lonely  and  sublimely  faithful  to  their  ideals 
through  the  centuries.  Why  they  clung  so  faithfully  to 
Moses  and  failed  to  listen  to  that  “greater  than  Moses” 
of  their  own  blood  is  only  one  of  the  mysteries  of  their 
history.  For  fully  1300  years  Christians  have  kept  their 


246 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


shrines  for  them  in  Sinai  and  the  Holy  Land,  with  the  unde¬ 
fined,  inextinguishable  hope  that  some  day  the  ancient 
people  would  come  back  from  their  long  bondage  and  exile 
of  2000  years  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  find  in  the 
idealized  and  spiritualized  Promised  Land  the  goal  of  their 
hope  and  expectation — the  Messiah  whom  somehow  they 
failed  to  recognize  1900  years  ago.  Christian  nations  will 
gladly  give  them  back  their  ancestral  home,  their  temple 
and  their  city.  Will  they  accept  it?  And  if  the  Christian 
peoples  of  the  earth  wish  to  blot  out  the  dark  stains  of 
persecution  and  misunderstanding  of  the  Hebrew  race  and 
to  study  once  again  the  mission  and  ideals  of  that  ancient 
race,  then  Hebrew  and  Christian  must  go  again  to  Sinai 
and  kneel  together  in  the  presence  of  their  common  God. 

Then  whatever  be  the  flippant  conception  of  the  igno¬ 
rant  traveller  concerning  the  life  and  habits  of  the  monks 
at  Sinai,  over  their  blundering  and  imperfect  faith — per¬ 
haps  no  more  blundering  and  imperfect  than  the  lives  of 
the  best  of  us,  considering  our  light  and  opportunity — 
will  be  thrown  the  robe  of  perfect  charity  and  a  crown,  be¬ 
cause  they  will  not  have  kept  their  vigil  of  thirteen  centuries 
in  vain. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE  BIBLICAL  ATMOSPHERE  OF  SINAI 

While  the  making  and  setting  up  of  the  Tabernacle 
at  Sinai  does  not  properly  fall  within  the  discussion  of  this 
book,  I  cannot  refrain  from  pointing  out  several  important 
facts  which  in  turn  open  up  lines  of  argument  bearing  upon 
the  historicity  of  the  Exodus. 

(i)  The  materials  of  the  Tabernacle  are  wholly  those 
from  Egypt  and  Sinai,  and  not  from  Arabia,  Palestine  or 
farther  north  and  east.  The  Egyptians  have  in  all  ages 
been  famous  tent-makers  and  are  to  the  present  day. 
And  what  we  call  the  “tabernacle”  was  really  a  “tent,”  as 
the  Revisers  of  our  English  Bible  have  clearly  shown  in 
the  use  of  “tent”  instead  of  “tabernacle.”  No  simpler 
dwelling  can  well  be  imagined,  and  its  amplification  and 
decoration  for  a  religious  center  is  wholly  along  Egyptian 
lines  inside  and  out.  (2)  The  Shittim  wood,  out  of  which 
the  boards,  tables,  etc.,  of  the  Tabernacle  were  formed,  is 
the  only  wood  suitable  for  such  purposes  found  in  Sinai. 
Its  name  in  Arabic  is  Seyyal.  Now  Seyyal  is  a  derivation 
from  the  Hebrew-Arabic  root  “ sayl ”  or  “seil”  meaning 
“torrent”  or  “water- spout.”  Hence  the  Seyyal  is  the 
torrent  tree ,  the  characteristic  tree  of  the  desert  wadis  of 
Sinai,  et  Tih  and  the  region  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Its1  wood  is 
heavier  than  water,  exceeding  hard,  with  fine  grain,  yellow 
near  the  sap  and  brown  at  the  heart.  It  is  never  attacked 
by  insects  and  is,  therefore,  eminently  suited  for  furniture 
in  a  climate  where  insects  commit  such  ravages  as  in  the 
desert  and  in  Palestine.  The  trunks  of  the  Seyyal  tree 
are  frequently  two  feet  thick.  The  value  of  its  timber  is  on 

1  “  H.  D.  B.,”  Vol.  I,  p.  507. 

247 


248 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


account  of  its  durability.  It  makes  excellent  charcoal  and 
is,  moreover,  the  tree  which  yields  the  famous  gum  Arabic. 

(3)  Copper  was  being  mined  by  the  Egyptians  at  Wady 
Nasb  above  Wady  Baba  (p.  113)  before  and  after  the 
Exodus. 

(4)  One  of  the  old  objections  raised  against  the  making 
of  the  Tabernacle  at  Sinai  was  the  matter  of  the  “badgers’ 
skins”  which  formed  one  of  the  coverings.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  badgers,  found  in  moderate  numbers  in  Palestine  and 
Syria,  are  almost  unknown  in  Sinai,  certainly  not  plentiful 
enough  in  all  these  districts  to  furnish  skins  enough  for  a 
covering  as  large  as  that  of  the  “tabernacle.”  Such  skins 
would,  moreover,  be  too  light  for  the  rough  desert  life,  and 
still  less  fitted  for  sandals  (Ezek.  16:  10),  where  the  same 
word  and  skin  are  mentioned.  But  it  has  long  been  known 
that  the  Hebrew  word  Tahash,  as  well  as  the  same  word  in 
Arabic,  means  “dolphin,”  and  the  Revised  Version  of  the 
Bible  has  rightly  changed  the  translation  of  “badgers’ 
skins”  to  “seal-skins,”  meaning  “porpoise-skins.”  This 
particular  porpoise,  called  by  the  Arabs  “dugong,”  is 
found  in  great  numbers  up  and  down  the  arms  of  the  Red 
Sea,  and  especially  in  the  Gulf  of  Akaba.  Its  flesh  is 
eaten,  but  the  most  important  part  is  the  skin,  which  is 
tanned  and  made  into  the  leather  which  our  Sinai  cameleers 
wore  in  the  shape  of  sandals.  There  would  not  have  been 
the  slightest  difficulty  in  procuring  enough  of  these  dolphin 
skins  to  make  just  such  a  covering  as  was  required  for  the 
“tabernacle.”  So  here  also  the  geography  and  sea-pro¬ 
ducts  of  the  peninsula  exactly  fit  the  requirements  for  the 
making  of  the  Tabernacle. 

And  the  climate  of  Sinai  and  the  desert  beyond,  especi¬ 
ally  in  Edom  and  Moab,  certainly  required  this  extra  heavy- 
leather  covering  in  order  to  protect  the  finer  inner  coverings 
of  red  rams’  skins,  of  goats’  hair  and  the  still  more  precious 
Oriental  tapestry  covered  with  the  figures  of  the  mystic 
Cherubim  and  woven  in  colors  of  the  richest  dyes,  violet 


The  Biblical  Atmosphere  of  Sinai  249 

and  purple  and  scarlet.  Curreliy,  a  modern  traveller  in 
Sinai,1  tells  of  snow  and  intense  cold  in  Sinai,  when  the 
water  in  their  tanks  froze  to  a  thickness  of  over  an  inch 
during  the  night.  Palmer  tells  of  snow  and  intense  cold 
just  above  Petra,2  and  Professor  Libbey  and  I  experienced 
a  memorable  storm  in  Edom.3 

(5)  I  am  also  convinced  for  a  number  of  good  reasons  that 
after  the  Children  of  Israel  had  made  good  their  escape 
from  Egypt  and  were  actually  in  the  district  of  Sinai,  there 
would  be  no  reason  why  they  should  not  have  backward 
communications  with  Egypt  and  easily  secure  everything 
that  they  might  need  from  that  source  in  the  making  of  the 
Tabernacle.  The  actual  distance  for  messengers  or  lightly 
laden  animals  would  have  presented  no  bar.  That  all  the 
Children  of  Israel  went  out  at  one  time  in  the  Exodus  is 
against  reason  and  fact.  A  papyrus4  still  gives  us  the 
names  of  the  civil  and  military  officers  charged,  in  the  reign 
of  Rameses  III,  about  a  hundred  years  after  the  Exodus, 
with  the  oversight  of  2083  Hebrews  residing  at  On,  who 
were  descendants  of  some  who  did  not  wish  or  who  failed 
to  escape  at  the  earlier  date. 

Bezaleel,  meaning  “the  shadow  of  God,”  was  the  man 
chosen  to  do  the  art  work  of  the  “tabernacle”  (Exodus 
31:  2),  and  some  curious  light  has  been  thrown  upon  his 
profession  by  the  discovery  of  splendid  specimens  of  the 
Egyptian  jewellers’  art  in  the  days  of  the  XII  Dynasty  at 
Deir  el  Bahari.  We  know  the  name  of  the  chief  artist  of 
Mentuhotep’s  reign.5  He  was  called  Mertisen,  and  he  thus 
describes  himself  on  his  tombstone  from  Abydos,  now  pre¬ 
served  in  the  Louvre:  “I  was  an  artist  skilled  in  my  art. 
I  knew  my  art,  how  to  represent  the  forms  of  going  forth 
and  returning,  so  that  each  limb  may  be  in  its  proper  place. 
I  knew  how  the  figure  of  a  man  should  walk  and  the  car- 

1  “  P.  R.  S.,”  pp.  231,  237.  2  “  P.  D.  E.,”  pp.  371,  372. 

3  “  J.  V.  and  P.,”  Vol.  II,  pp.  12-16.  4  “  G.  H.  B.,”  Vol.  I,  p.  18. 

*  5  “  E.  and  W.  A.,”  p.  331. 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


250 

riage  of  a  woman,  the  poising  of  the  arm  to  bring  the  hip¬ 
popotamus  low,  the  going  of  the  runner.  I  knew  how  to 
make  amulets,  which  enable  us  to  go  without  fire  burning 
us  and  without  the  flood  washing  us  away.  No  man 
could  do  this  but  I,  and  the  eldest  son  of  my  body.  Him 
has  the  god  decreed  to  excel  in  art,  and  I  have  seen  the 
perfection  of  the  work  of  his  hands  in  every  kind  of  rare 
stone,  in  gold  and  silver,  in  ivory  and  ebony.’ ’  Now  since 
Mertisen  and  his  son  were  the  chief  artists  of  their  day,  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  they  were  employed  to  decorate 
their  King’s  funerary  chapel.  So  that  in  all  probability 
the  XI  Dynasty  reliefs  from  Bahari  are  the  work  of  Mer¬ 
tisen  and  his  son. 

The  names  of  the  sculptor  and  painter  of  Seti  I’s  temple 
at  Abydos  have  been  recovered  and  that  of  the  sculptor 
of  some  of  the  tombs  at  Tel  el  Amarna,  but  otherwise  very 
few  names  of  the  artists  are  directly  associated  with  the 
temples  and  tombs  which  they  decorated,  and  of  the  archi¬ 
tects  we  know  little  more.  But  one  of  these  rare  items 
again  fits  into  our  story  in  the  fact  that  the  great  temple  at 
Deir  el  Bahari  was  designed  by  Senmut,  the  chief  archi¬ 
tect  of  Queen  Hatshepsut,  and  the  same  architect  or  one  of 
his  helpers  or  pupils  may  well  have  reared  the  Hanafiyehs 
of  Hatshepsut  at  Serabit.  Why  may  not  Bezaleel  have 
been  one  of  the  school  of  trained  artists  who  were  employed 
and  encouraged  by  Queen  Hatshepsut?  All  of  which  facts 
fill  us  with  expectation  that  future  discoveries  will  reveal 
a  thousand  interesting  coincidences  that  we  now  have  no 
clue  of.  Hence  it  is  a  clear  and  simple  fact  when  we  say 
that  the  whole  atmosphere  of  Sinai  is  that  of  the  Bible  down 
to  the  most  unimportant  details,  and  that  no  other  combina¬ 
tion  of  mountain,  desert,  oasis  and  seashore  has  ever  been 
seen  or  discovered  which  meets  the  requirements  of  the 
narratives.  The  imaginary  location  in  “Midian”  ought 
to  be  assigned  to  the  Jerahmeelites  and  laid  decently  away 
for  ever. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


THE  RAINFALL  AND  WATER-SUPPLY  IN  SINAI 

The  rainfall  in  Sinai  does  not  seem  to  have  changed  since 
5000  B.  C.  The  all-important  bearing  of  this  upon  the 
ancient  population  and  the  numbers  of  the  Children  of 
Israel  who  went  out  in  the  Exodus  has  already  been  referred 
to.  There  are  at  least  three  lines  of  exploration  and  inves¬ 
tigation  which  contribute  indirect  testimony  of  the  highest 
possible  value — flint  knapping,  the  inscriptions  in  Sinai 
and  the  traces  of  ancient  mining  enterprises. 

A  few  years  ago  nothing  was  known  of  paleolithic  Egypt, 
that  is,  the  valley  of  the  Nile  in  the  most  ancient  stone  age. 
Many  writers,  adopting  the  idea  that  the  paleolithic  days 
of  Egypt  were  contemporary  with  the  glacial  age  of  north¬ 
ern  Europe,  took  for  granted  that  the  climate  of  Egypt 
in  those  days  must  have  been  entirely  different  from  that 
of  to-day.  Instead  of  a  dry  desert  on  either  side  of  the 
Nile,  they  pictured  those  mountain  plateaus  as  covered 
with  forests,  through  which  flowed  countless  streams  to 
feed  the  dry  wadis  and  watercourses  which  empty  into  the 
Nile  below.  “And  the  flints  which  the  Paleolithic  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  the  plateau  forests  made  and  used  were  left  on  the 
now  treeless  and  sunbaked  desert  surface.”  But  this  weak 
conclusion  has  been  abandoned,  and  the  “great  forests  and 
torrential  rains”  have  been  pushed  farther  back  in  antiq¬ 
uity,  if,  indeed,  they  ever  had  an  existence  at  all,  because  it 
is  perfectly  clear  that  the  ancient  flint  knappers  used  these 
already  barren  slopes  as  their  open-air  workshops,  and 
that  the  flint  cores  and  chips  and  weapons  lie  exactly  where 
they  fell  from  the  flint  knapper’s  hand,  and  are  but  bleached 
and  patinated  by  ages  of  fierce  sunlight. 

251 


252  From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 

Now,  the  valley  of  the  Nile  is  less  than  150  miles  due 
west  from  the  peaks  of  Sinai,  and  we  certainly  are  justified 
in  assuming  the  same  climatic  condition  in  such  a  closely 
adjacent  region.  Flints  gathered  in  Sinai  point  to  exactly 
the  same  conclusions.  The  paleolithic  man  knapped  the 
flints  where  he  found  them.  He  left  the  chips  and  the  use¬ 
less  cores  on  the  spot.  Hence  the  constant  rainfall  and 
dense  vegetation  of  the  paleolithic  age  in  Sinai  is  a 
myth. 

The  inscriptions  in  Sinai  about  Maghareh  and  Serabit 
give  a  double  testimony.  The  many  steles  of  sandstone 
and  especially  the  inscriptions  above  the  ancient  mines 
show  no  signs  of  weathering,  which  would,  of  course,  be  ab¬ 
solutely  impossible  in  any  climate  with  any  known  rainfall. 
But  some  of  the  steles  at  Serabit,  in  their  detailed  accounts 
of  the  personnel  and  commissariat  of  the  royal  mining 
expeditions,  lay  great  stress  upon  the  number  of  animals 
employed  in  bringing  water,  and  point  unmistakably  to 
climatic  conditions  exactly  similar  to  those  of  to-day. 

The  valleys  and  strata  where  copper  was  mined  in 
ancient  times  are  now  well  known,  as  are  also  the  locations 
of  the  smelting  furnaces.  Now,  in  most  instances  the  ore 
was  carried  long  distances  from  mine  to  smelter  for  exactly 
the  same  reason  that  it  would  need  to  be  carried  to-day, 
namely,  to  where  fuel  and  water  existed  in  even  the  most 
meager  quantities.  The  debris  of  smelting  furnaces 
at  the  plain  of  el  Markah  and  Wady  Gharundal  are  well- 
known  instances,  pointing  to  ancient  climatic  conditions 
as  similar,  if  not  identical,  with  those  of  to-day. 

References  have  been  and  will  be  made  to  the  traces  of  tor¬ 
rential  floods  found  in  the  great  valleys  of  Sinai.  Twenty 
miles  below  the  oasis  of  Feiran  we  saw  great  trunks  of  palm 
trees  which  had  undoubtedly  been  carried  from  the  oasis 
all  that  distance  by  angry  waters.  Rev.  F.  W.  Holland, 
visiting  the  Wady  Selaf  in  1867,  witnessed  a  great  seil  or 
flood  which  carried  away  an  Arab  encampment.  Forty 


The  Rainfall  and  Water-supply  in  Sinai  253 


souls,  together  with  many  camels,  sheep  and  cattle,  perished 
in  the  waters.  Mr.  Holland  narrowly  escaped  losing  his 
life.  He  describes  the  scene  as  “something  terrible  to 
witness;  a  boiling,  roaring  torrent  filled  the  entire  valley, 
carrying  down  huge  boulders  of  rock  as  though  they  had 
been  so  many  pebbles,  while  whole  families  swept  by,  hur¬ 
ried  on  to  destruction  by  the  resistless  course  of  the  flood/’ 

Such  calamities  are,  happily,  exceedingly  rare,  but  their 
possibility  is  explainable.  Because  the  mountains  of 
Sinai,  both  peaks  and  slopes,  are  of  bare  granite,  with  only 
the  most  insignificant  patches  of  soil  at  rare  intervals  about 
their  bases,  even  the  lightest  rainfall  is  shed  as  from  an 
iron  roof,  and  invariably  produces  the  dreaded  sell  or 
water-spout  in  some  of  the  surrounding  valleys.  Much  as 
the  thirst-parched  Arabs  long  and  pray  for  moisture  and 
water,  they  ever  dread  the  noise  of  the  water-spout  among 
these  mountain  peaks. 

While  in  Sinai  we  enquired  carefully  of  the  monks  con¬ 
cerning  the  rainfall,  and  the  head  of  the  monastery,  who 
has  lived  there  since  1866,  a  period  of  43  years,  told  us  that 
not  infrequently  there  were  periods  of  three  and  four  years 
in  which  no  rain  fell.  The  winter  of  1907-08  was  one  of 
“much  snow,”  but  the  total  fall  did  not  exceed  20  inches. 
Up  to  February  27,  1909,  neither  rain  nor  snow  had  fallen 
during  the  winter  of  1908-09. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  follow  our  footsteps 
through  Sinai  I  may  add  the  following  suggestions  as  to 
their  water-supply:  We  filled  our  water  barrels  at  Suez  from 
the  filtered  water  of  the  Sweet-water  Canal  from  the  Nile. 
Our  camels  drank  at  the  Wells  of  Moses.  Three  days  later, 
at  Elim,  we  poured  the  remains  of  the  Nile  water  into  one 
barrel  and  refilled  the  second  from  the  Elim  water,  which 
was  plenty  good  enough  for  cooking  purposes  and  even  for 
drinking  had  it  been  necessary.  This  supply  easily  carried 
us  through  two  more  dry  camps  to  the  Oasis  of  Feiran. 
Here  we  had  a  general  cleaning  up  of  the  water  barrels  and 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


2  54 

filled  again  for  the  one  dry  camp  between  the  oasis  and 
Sinai. 

At  Sinai  we  again  filled  from  the  cleanest  of  the  Monas¬ 
tery  wells,  and  this  supplied  us  for  two  more  dry  camps 
until  we  reached  Wady  el  Ain.  If  only  caravans  could 
make  an  early  start  from  Sinai  they  could  reach  Hazeroth 
comfortably  on  the  second  day,  but  the  customary  delays 
seem  almost  unavoidable.  Camping  on  the  sands  at  Haze¬ 
roth  would  be  a  delightful  experience,  even  though  the 
baggage  camels  might  have  to  make  a  detour  to  get  into 
the  oasis.  Another  day  would  carry  the  camp  to  the  sea¬ 
shore  at  Nuweiba,  where  the  well  in  the  fort  is  available. 

We  filled  at  Wady  el  Ain  for  the  three  dry  camps  between 
that  and  Akaba.  Even  with  the  scarcity  of  water,  we 
spent  our  Sunday  in  the  Coral  Cove  Camp,  because  we 
passed  Nuweiba  on  Friday.  Had  we  been  one  day  earlier 
we  could  have  reached  Akaba  before  Sunday.  As  it  was, 
we  used  the  last  drop  of  water  in  camp,  excepting,  of  course, 
our  personal  canteens,  and  these  were  also  exhausted  before 
we  reached  Akaba. 

If  travellers  plan  to  use  camels  between  Akaba  and  Ma’an 
they  need  not  be  troubled  about  the  water-supply.  If, 
however,  they  secure  mules  and  horses,  as  we  did,  and  are 
accompanied  by  mounted  soldiers,  they  will  do  well  to 
get  out  of  Akaba  in  time  to  cover  the  five  hours  to  Ain  Haldi 
in  Wady  Yetem,  which  lies  one  hour  beyond  the  Arab 
burying-ground,  called  Abu  Jiddeh.  The  next  day  they 
can  pitch  at  Guwaireh,  where  the  water-supply  is  meager, 
in  case  of  an  Arab  encampment  being  near  by  or  anything  in 
the  shape  of  a  military  post,  as  we  found  there.  The  next 
day  will  carry  the  camp  to  the  great  fountains  of  Abul 
Lisan,  an  hour  beyond  Fuweileh,  at  the  top  of  the  pass 
Nakb  Estar. 

It  hardly  seems  necessary  to  repeat  what  has  been  pointed 
out  so  many  times,  that  the  Route  of  the  Children  of  Israel 
in  the  Exodus  must  have  been  irrevocably  fixed  in  Sinai, 


The  Rainfall  and  Water-supply  in  Sinai  255 


in  the  “Desert  of  the  Wandering/’  about  Mount  Hor  and 
in  Edom  and  Moab,  by  the  springs  and  fountains  and  wells 
of  water.  And  these,  in  turn,  had  already  determined  the 
main  lines  of  the  great  roads  of  antiquity.  But  another 
consideration  of  importance  can  well  be  urged  at  this  point. 
It  is  an  instinct  of  the  desert  with  bands  of  Arabs,  great 
and  small,  to  pitch  some  distance  away  from  the  water- 
supply  for  considerations  of  greater  safety.  We  have 
noted  the  fact  in  connection  with  the  little  fountain  at  el 
Buwaib,  and  will  note  the  same  at  Fuweileh  in  the  land  of 
Edom.  The  Children  of  Israel  did  apparently  the  same 
thing  here  at  Sinai,  on  the  supposition  that  the  Oasis  of 
Feiran  was  the  rallying  place  for  the  people  with  their 
flocks  and  herds,  while  the  Tabernacle  was  hidden  in  the 
secluded  fastnesses  at  Sinai.  The  same  fact  will  be  noticed 
at  Kadesh  Barnea,  where  Ain  Kadis  is  some  two  hours  or 
more  east  of  the  great  roads  of  the  desert. 

It  may  also  be  noted  here  that  the  whole  supply  along 
the  Route  would  be  hopelessly  inadequate  for  3,000,000 
souls  and  certainly  most  distressingly  meager  for  the  greatly 
reduced  numbers.  The  finest  stream  of  all  at  the  Oasis  of 
Feiran  would  hardly  fill  a  ten-inch  pipe  at  the  main  source, 
and  the  stream  falls  only  75  meters  (250  feet)  within  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  two  and  a  half  miles.  The  reduced  numbers 
could  have  survived  on  the  present  water-supply,  but  not 
without  all  the  difficulties  and  haunting  memories  of  the 
Scriptural  account  of  that  immortal  pilgrimage. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


KADESH  BARNEA  AND  THE  “DESERT  OF  THE 

WANDERINGS  ” 

It  has  been  my  aim  hitherto  to  avoid  burdening  the 
pages  of  this  book,  and  the  patience  of  the  reader,  with 
purely  technical  discussions  of  linguistic  or  archaeological 
problems.  My  desire  is  to  establish  the  historicity  of  the 
Exodus  in  its  larger  and  stronger  features  for  the  average 
student  of  the  Word  of  God  by  something  of  the  personal 
touch  in  linking  the  record  with  the  locations  named 
therein.  While  for  years  I  have  eagerly  desired  to  enter 
what  is  called  the  Desert  of  the  Wanderings,  I  have  as  yet 
been  unable  to  do  so.  I  have  passed  completely  round  it, 
looked  over  it  from  more  than  one  mountain  peak,  but  it 
still  remains  for  me  “the  promised  land.”  Only  a  few 
months  ago  I  contemplated  a  dash,  but  friends  and  ac¬ 
quaintances  about  Jerusalem  and  Gaza,  government  and 
civil,  declared  it  physically  impossible  in  the  present  hostile 
situation  of  the  Arab  tribes  toward  each  other  and  toward 
all  foreigners.  But  I  do  not  for  a  moment  despair  of  enter¬ 
ing  that  land  and  of  completing  what  is  partially  accom¬ 
plished  in  this  volume  and  the  two  volumes  “The  Jordan 
Valley  and  Petra” — the  personal  examination  of  the  Route 
of  the  Exodus  from  Raamses  to  Jericho. 

The  section  from  Egypt  to  Sinai  we  have  covered,  and 
in  doing  so  have  faced  all  the  great  questions  centering 
round  the  Problem  of  the  Exodus.  In  the  following  chap¬ 
ters  we  have  to  deal  only  with  the  Route,  and  as  a  prelim¬ 
inary  let  us  make  a  short  review  of  the  sources  of  our  Bib¬ 
lical  knowledge. 


256 


Kadesh  Barnea  and  “Desert  of  Wanderings”  257 

Exodus  begins  with  the  story  of  the  oppression  of  Israel 
in  Egypt  and  ends  with  the  setting  up  of  the  Tabernacle  at 
Sinai.  Eighteen  chapters  describe  the  deliverance  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  through  Moses,  and  the  remaining  twenty- 
two  the  organization  of  the  Israelites  at  Sinai. 

Leviticus  is  but  a  portion  of  the  priestly  law  and  history 
book  embedded  within  the  Hexateuch.  Its  four  main 
divisions — the  manual  of  offerings  (1-7),  the  consecration 
of  the  Priesthood  (8-10),  the  laws  of  ceremonial  purity 
(11-16)  and  the  law  of  holiness  (17-27) — deal  wholly  with 
the  organization  of  the  worship  at  Sinai,  and  give  absolutely 
no  information  concerning  either  the  problem  or  route  of 
the  Exodus. 

The  book  of  Numbers  carries  on  the  history  of  Israel  in 
the  wilderness  from  the  second  to  the  fortieth  year  of  the 
Exodus.  But  in  addition  to  the  picturesque  narrative, 
which  begins  properly  at  chapter  10  and  continues  through 
to  the  25th,  it  also  contains  a  large  amount  of  statistical  and 
legal  matter.  The  double  census  as  given  in  chapters  1  to 
4  and  26  has  already  been  dealt  with  in  Chapter  XIV,  on 
“The  Numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel,”  p.  163.  The 
other  most  important  section  of  the  Book  of  Numbers,  as 
far  as  we  are  concerned,  is  the  Itinerary  given  in  chapter 

33- 

The  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  a 
general  restatement  of  the  whole  preceding  legislation  in 
Exodus,  Leviticus  and  Numbers,  but  it  also  contains  in 
narrative  form  a  resume  (chapters  1-4)  of  Israel’s  expe¬ 
riences  between  Horeb  and  the  Plains  of  Moab.  Again, 
in  chapters  27  and  29  to  34  it  gives  entirely  new  material 
bearing  upon  the  meaning  of  God’s  dealings  with  the  Chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel  in  the  Exodus  and  the  death  of  Moses. 
The  primary  purpose  of  all  three  books,  Leviticus,  Numbers 
and  Deuteronomy,  being  a  religious  one,  and  neither  his¬ 
torical  nor,  much  less,  geographical,  all  the  information 
gained  is  by  following  the  narrative  backward  and  forward 
17 


258 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


with  all  the  clues  possible,  and  the  final  test  the  correction 
or  corroboration  of  this  narrative  with  the  land  itself. 
(See  the  Itinerary  by  Auchincloss,  Chapter  VIII.) 

For  our  own  purposes  we  have  divided  up  the  Route  of 
the  Children  of  Israel  into  four  sections:  (I)  from  Rameses 
to  Sinai,  (II)  from  Sinai  to  Akaba,  (III)  from  Akaba  to 
Kadesh  Barnea  and  back,  and  (IV)  from  Akaba  to  Jericho. 
The  Biblical  material,  however,  can  be  much  more  satis¬ 
factorily  divided  into  three  sections:  (1)  from  Egypt  to 
Sinai,  (2)  from  Sinai  to  Kadesh  and  (3)  from  Kadesh  to 
Jericho.  These  divisions  in  themselves  reveal  much  of  the 
Divine  purpose.  They  marched  from  Egypt  to  Sinai, 
where  they  were  to  receive  the  Law.  They  marched  from 
Sinai  to  Kadesh  with  the  intention  of  attacking  the  Ca- 
naanites.  Then,  as  a  people,  after  the  return  of  the  spies, 
they  rushed  prematurely  to  their  defeat  at  Hormah,  and  de¬ 
layed  thus  their  entrance  into  the  Promised  Land  for  many 
years.  Even  so  did  Moses  delay  their  escape  from  a  bond¬ 
age  by  his  hasty  killing  of  the  Egyptian  (Ex.  2 :  n-14).  It 
is  of  great  importance,  however,  to  note  when  the  Bible 
record  touches  these  definitely  planned  marches  from 
Sinai  to  Kadesh  and  from  Kadesh  to  Jericho,  the  itiner¬ 
aries  are  minute  and  explicit  and  the  chronology  carefully 
recorded.  But  while  the  record  of  these  thirty-seven 
unhappy,  blundering  and  rebellious  years  crowded  into 
a  few  sentences  the  echoes  of  that  sad  period,  the  marks  of 
their  extreme  suffering  are  heard  and  seen  in  all  the  subse¬ 
quent  centuries  of  Hebrew  history. 

The  chief  interest,  as  already  hinted  at,  centers  about  the 
Itinerary  which  is  found  in  chapter  33  of  the  book  of  Num¬ 
bers.  It  enumerates  forty-one  stages  between  Rameses, 
the  starting-point  of  the  Exodus,  and  the  encampment  of 
the  Israelites  by  the  river  Jordan.  It  is  a  pure  accident 
that  the  forty  stations  therein  named  coincide  with  the 
forty  years  which  the  Children  of  Israel  spent  on  the 
way. 


Kadesh  Barnea  and  “Desert  of  Wanderings”  259 

In  connection  with  the  Itinerary  there  are  two  dates: 
“the  date  of  the  start  (‘the  fifteenth  day  of  the  first  month 
of  the  year’)  and  the  date  of  Aaron’s  death,  which  took 
place  on  the  first  day  of  the  fifth  month  of  the  fortieth  year 
and  at  the  thirty- third  station.” 

Now,  eleven  of  these  stations  are  easily  assignable  to  the 
first  year:  those  between  Egypt  and  Sinai;  nine  of  them 
certainly  belong  to  the  last  year,  which  leaves  twenty-one 
belonging  to  the  thirty-eight  years  of  the  wandering.  I 
have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  the  distances  between 
camping-places  do  not  necessarily  mean  a  single  day’s  jour¬ 
ney,  but  as  in  modern  travel  through  these  same  deserts 
as  well  as  is  seen  clearly  on  the  Pilgrimage  Route  to  Mecca, 
it  is  the  distance  between  locations  where  water  is  found 
sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  caravans  accustomed  to 
make  use  of  those  routes.  There  is  a  curious  suggestion 
of  this  fact  in  the  Itinerary  itself,  where  certain  of  the  verses 
speak  of  “pitching”  and  others  of  “encamping,”  which 
corresponds  exactly  to  the  customs  of  the  caravans.  In 
Numbers  11:3,  35,  and  33:18,  26,  30,  34,  and  35,  the 
Itinerary  speaks  of  camps,  and  in  fourteen  intermediate 
locations  they  simply  pitched.  One  at  least  of  these  stages 
between  Ezion  Geber  and  Kadesh  is  70  miles  long  and,  of 
course,  could  not  have  been  covered  in  less  than  six  or  seven 
days. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  route  and  camping- 
places  of  the  Children  of  Israel  do  not  include  a  line  of 
cities,  and  that  many  of  the  names,  given  by  the  Children 
of  Israel  themselves  in  remembrance  of  local  happenings 
within  the  camps,  are  necessarily  lost;  sixteen  are  men¬ 
tioned  nowhere  outside  the  Itinerary.  A  fair  number  of 
them  have  been  carried  forward  through  all  history  and 
remain  the  same  until  the  present  day ;  others  had  meanings 
known  to  have  been  translated  into  other  languages,  and  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  out  of  eighty  place  names  on  or  near  this 
Itinerary  forty  are  known  and  identified  with  all  certainty, 


260 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


ten  more  are  tentatively  located,  another  ten  have  been 
conjectured,  leaving  only  fifteen  or  twenty  of  minor  import¬ 
ance  which  are  practically  lost.  We  can  easily  pick  from 
the  whole  number  a  series  which  fixes  the  general  line  of 
the  route,  leaving  only  the  less  important  locations  in  be¬ 
tween  still  to  be  identified.  As  we  have  already  seen,  the 
Fountains  of  Moses,  Elim,  Maghareh  and  the  Oasis  of 
Feiran,  fix  the  Route  between  Egypt  and  Sinai,  and  with 
just  as’  much  certainty,  Hazeroth,  Kadesh  Barnea  and 
Ezion  Geber  fix  the  general  line  of  route  in  the  sections  2 
and  3  according  to  our  division,  while  Mount  Hor,  Ezion 
Geber,  Ma’an,  the  brook  Zered,  the  Arnon,  Dibon,  Madeba 
and  Nebo  fix  it  without  a  perad venture  in  the  fourth  or 
last  section.  The  greatest  difficulties  cluster  about  the 
route  from  Sinai  through  Hazeroth  to  Kadesh  Barnea, 
where  the  Children  of  Israel  spent  more  than  thirty-seven 
years  of  the  period  consumed  between  Egypt  and  the 
Promised  Land. 

The  story  of  the  discussions  concerning  the  southern 
boundary  of  Palestine  and  Kadesh  Barnea  is  one  that 
would  fill  many  volumes.  The  Biblical  references  to  it 
might  be  expected  to  exceed  those  of  any  other  location, 
whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  history  of  those  thirty- 
seven  years  is  almost  a  blank.  Many  of  the  important 
events  recorded  in  the  semi  historical  portions  of  Leviticus, 
Numbers  and  Deuteronomy  are  referred  to  this  period,  but 
whether  they  occurred  in  the  first,  twentieth  or  thirty- 
fifth  year  it  is  impossible  to  say.  Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull, 
in  his  volume  on  “Kadesh  Barnea,”  has  covered  all  the 
Biblical  indications  concerning  the  site,  together  with  a 
perfect  mine  of  information  collected  out  of  Egyptian 
records,  rabbinical  writings  and  early  Christian  name  lists. 
But  because  this  region  has  never  been  invaded  by  a  for¬ 
eign  army  since  the  days  of  Chedorlaomer  (Genesis  14) 
and  because  it  has  lain  completely  outside  of  the  stream  of 
all  modern  history  and  is  possessed  by  suspicious,  warlike 


Kadesh  Barnea  and  “Desert  of  Wanderings”  261 

and  hostile  Bedawin  tribes,  it  has  dropped  out  of  notice 
for  a  period  of  at  least  1500  years. 

Since  the  revival  of  learning  and  geographical  research, 
travellers  at  rare  intervals  have  crossed  this  desert  tract 
and  brought  back  meager  and  tantalizing  accounts  of  what 
they  saw  in  the  way  of  ancient  ruins,  the  water-supply 
and  the  more  prominent  features  of  this  unknown  land. 
The  general  route  taken  by  these  older  travellers  was  the 
beaten  track  fron  Sinai  northward  through  Nakhl  to  Gaza, 
and  more  rarely  to  Hebron.  All,  however,  give  clear  in¬ 
dications  of  the  fact  already  referred  to  (p.  42),  that  this 
district  was  most  certainly  crossed  by  several  of  the  ancient 
roads  of  antiquity,  and  the  more  recent  study  of  the  facts 
reported  give  clear  indications  as  to  the  general  direction 
and  location  of  those  ancient  roads.  Chedorlaomer  and 
his  invading  army  found  space  and  water  enough  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kadesh  Barnea  for  his  great  invading  host,  and 
by  inference  this  fact  easily  establishes  what  we  have  hith¬ 
erto  contended  for,  that  this  district,  long  before  the  days 
of  the  Children  of  Israel,  contained  well-known  roads  con¬ 
necting  Egypt  with  Mesopotamia. 

Modern  discussions  and  investigations  make  it  clear 
that  out  of  Egypt  across  this  isthmus  and  peninsula  of  Sinai 
went  at  least  three  well-known  roads.  That  along  the 
seacoast  north  was  called  “the  way  of  the  land  of  the 
Philistines”  (Ex.  13:  17),  that  through  the  center  of  the 
isthmus  and  desert,  looking  eastward  through  the  delta, 
was  the  “way  of  Shur”  (Gen.  16:  7),  and  that  across  the 
peninsula  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba,  by  way  of 
Nakhl  with  its  secondary  and  better  watered  loop  through 
Sinai,  was  the  “way  of  the  Red  Sea.  ”  Now,  it  is  established 
almost  beyond  a  peradventure  that  this  middle  road 
passing  through  what  is  marked  on  our  modern  maps  as 
the  Desert  of  the  Wandering,  entered  the  District  of  Kadesh 
Barnea  and  led  down  across  the  Arabah  either  directly  to 
Petra  or  by  less  easy  routes  which  climbed  through  well- 


262 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


known  passes  by  way  of  Tafileh  and  Kerak  (Kir-Hareseth) 
to  Edom  and  Moab,  and  then  north  of  the  Syrian  desert  to 
Mesopotamia. 

Among  the  great  explorers  of  this  district  must  be  ranked 
Robinson  and  Palmer.  Robinson  stands  without  a  peer 
in  the  investigation  and  identification  of  Biblical  sites,  but 
in  the  matter  of  Kadesh  Barnea  he  made  perhaps  the  only 
slip  in  all  his  great  task.  He  entered  that  section  of  the 
world  thoroughly  prepared  for  his  work  by  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  almost  all  that  had  ever  been  written  or  re¬ 
corded  by  the  writers  of  all  lands  and  languages.  Palmer, 
whose  name  will  be  for  ever  connected  with  the  Desert  of 
the  Exodus,  was  an  explorer  of  equal  ability,  but  of  an  en¬ 
tirely  different  type.  He  had  given  little  attention  to 
the  records  of  the  past  and  of  other  explorers,  and  one  can 
but  wish  that  for  the  sake  of  results  he  could  have  had  a 
fraction  of  the  accurate  information  possessed  by  Robinson. 
He  suggests  the  experience  of  a  well-educated  man  wholly 
ignorant  of  chemistry  placed  for  the  moment  in  a  modern 
laboratory  and  offered  an  opportunity  of  working  out  the 
problems  of  chemistry,  with  but  a  suggestion  of  the  infor¬ 
mation  and  training  which  had  brought  that  laboratory  into 
existence.  His  journeyings  in  company  with  Lieutenant 
Drake  through  the  Desert  of  the  Exodus  are  fascinating, 
and  the  amount  of  accurate  information  gathered  fully 
justifies  his  claim  to  the  great  fame  and  admiration  at¬ 
tached  to  his  name.  He  made  two  memorable  journeys  in 
1868-69  and  1869-70,  and  has  blazed  the  way  for  all 
future  travellers  who  will  ever  study  the  topography  of 
the  Exodus.  His  great  linguistic  gifts,  his  love  for  life 
among  all  manner  of  strange  people,  his  passion  for  learn¬ 
ing  always  from  men  rather  than  from  books,  fitted  him 
peculiarly  for  this  pioneer  work  in  the  Desert  of  the  Exodus. 
Twelve  years  after  his  second  journey,  when  the  British 
Government  was  facing  its  troublesome  task  of  subduing 
the  rebellion  of  Arabi  Pasha  in  Egypt,  Palmer  was  asked 


Kadesh  Barnea  and  “Desert  of  Wanderings”  263 


by  the  Government  to  assist  in  this  task.  Although  in 
poor  health  he  responded  to  the  call.  His  mission  was  to 
enter  this  same  desert  country  and  by  his  personal  influence, 
fortified  perhaps  by  the  use  of  gold,  to  prevent  the  Arab 
tribes  from  joining  the  rebellious  Egyptians,  and  to  secure 
from  them  a  supply  of  camels  and  guides  for  use  in  the 
Egyptian  campaign.  Entering  the  country  at  Gaza,  he 
made  his  way  safely  through  the  Bedawin  tribes  to  Suez, 
and  then  returning  with  a  Captain  Gill  for  a  second  visit, 
both  he  and  his  companion  were  murdered  in  August, 
1882,  under  most  tragic  circumstances.  The  British  Gov¬ 
ernment  by  means  of  a  special  expedition  recovered  their 
remains,  which  now  lie  buried  in  St.  Paul’s  Cathedral. 

The  absolute  identification  of  the  water-supply  at  Kadesh 
Barnea  is  perhaps  still  an  open  question,  but  the  question 
of  its  general  location  has  been  settled  for  ever.  Many, 
many  years  ago  the  location  was  sought  for  by  name,  but 
the  wretched  Bedawin,  knowing  of  the  many  remains  of 
ancient  buildings,  which  they  almost  invariably  referred 
to  former  Christian  owners,  are  for  ever  suspicious  of  the 
coming  of  Christian  travellers  from  any  direction,  and  al¬ 
most  fiendishly  opposed  to  the  sight  of  a  barometer,  a 
camera,  or  any  sort  of  surveying  instrument.  Almost  by 
accident  clues  were  obtained  to  the  existence  of  a  plain 
and  water-supply  whose  names  contained  the  long-sought- 
for  word,  which  in  Arabic  is  the  exact  equivalent  in  letter 
and  meaning  with  the  ancient  Kadesh.  The  location  in 
general  is  fixed  and  identified  by  a  fountain  which  still 
bears  the  name  Ain  Kadis.1 

This  recovery  and  identification,  as  recorded  in  Dr.  Trum¬ 
bull’s  fascinating  volume,  begins  with  Mr.  Rowland’s 


1 1  will  not  trouble  the  reader  with  the  technicalities  of  language  involved 
nor  with  the  many  forms  under  which  this  modern  name  appears.  Those 
who  wish  to  study  the  problem  of  this  identification  through  all  its  ramifica¬ 
tions,  ancient  and  modern,  will  find  an  overflowing  abundance  of  material 
and  information  in  the  volume  already  referred  to,  “Kadesh  Barnea,”  by 
Dr.  H.  C.  Trumbull. 


264 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


famous  letter  written  in  1845  and  published  as  an  Appendix 
to  Williams’  “Holy  City,”  p.  487.  This  letter  opened  a 
discussion  which  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  closed  after  a 
period  of  more  than  65  years.  Dr.  Trumbull,  who  visited 
Sinai  in  1881  and  returned  by  way  of  Nakhl,  conceived  the 
idea  while  in  that  neighborhood  of  making  a  dash  for  the 
site  of  Kadesh  Barnea  in  order  to  verify  and,  if  possible, 
end  the  discussion  which  had  then  continued  for  some  35 
years.  He  succeeded,  by  much  ingenuity  and  not  a  little 
danger  and  expense,  in  reaching  all  three  of  the  great  foun¬ 
tains  in  that  district,  the  easternmost  one  of  which  is  now 
tentatively  accepted  as  Ain  Kadis.  It  was  after  his  re¬ 
turn,  however,  that  he  took  up  the  study  of  the  whole 
problem  with  the  carefulness  and  enthusiasm  which  have 
produced  the  memorable  volume  already  referred  to, 
bearing  the  name  of  “Kadesh  Barnea.” 

Many  other  travellers  have  attempted  to  penetrate  this 
district  since  the  death  of  Palmer  in  1882,  but  that  event, 
and  the  subsequent  punishment  of  Arabs  who  were  not 
perhaps  the  guilty  individuals,  has  increased  the  diffi¬ 
culties  of  the  situation  to  such  an  extent  that  very  little  of 
real  value  has  been  accomplished.  The  British  Govern¬ 
ment,  pressed  by  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  and  all 
societies  and  individuals  interested  in  Biblical  problems, 
has  issued  a  large  map,  in  sections,  of  the  Sinai  Peninsula, 
which  it  has  compiled  from  the  best  available  informa¬ 
tion,  but  which  it  carefully  points  out  cannot  be  con¬ 
sidered  reliable. 

The  Boundary  Commission  in  1906  replaced  the  stones 
and  marks  destroyed  by  some  one  connected  with  the 
Turkish  Government,  took  careful  and  accurate  observa¬ 
tions  of  all  the  prominent  peaks  and  valleys  along  the  new 
boundary  line,  but  outside  of  that  district  the  positions 
of  all  other  valleys  and  ruins  and  natural  objects  are  only 
approximate  and  the  drawing  of  the  hill  features  is  gener¬ 
ally  conventional.  The  great  value  of  this  extensive  and 


Kadesh  Barnea  and  “Desert  of  Wanderings”  265 

detailed  map  for  future  explorers  is  in  the  large  collection 
of  Arabic  names,  which  have  been  gathered  and  placed 
close  to  the  districts  or  objects  to  which  they  belong.  It 
is  certain  that  many  of  these  names  will  furnish  clues  to 
ancient  locations  and  fountains  connected  with  the  history 
of  the  Children  of  Israel,  and  it  is  devoutly  to  be  hoped 
that  travellers  and  explorers  capable  of  making  proper  use 
of  them  will  gain  entrance  and  freedom  of  movement  all 
through  this  fascinating  district.  The  modern  camera  will 
also  bring  back  a  wealth  of  pictorial  information. 

Among  the  results  already  gathered  from  the  books  of 
Robinson  and  Palmer,  and  other  fragmentary  material,  are 
these:  The  southern  boundary  of  the  Promised  Land,  as 
referred  to  in  the  surveys  of  Joshua,  certainly  hinges  or 
pivots  at  Kadesh  Barnea,  bending  toward  the  northeast  on 
the  one  end,  and  then  westward  across  the  isthmus  on  the 
other,  and  corresponds  in  general  to  the  limits  of  the  arable 
and  agricultural  district  of  the  Negeb  or  South  Country. 
The  district  south  of  this  boundary  line  is  the  desert  proper, 
and  contains  large  sections  of  really  mountainous  district 
in  which  are  found  oases  similar  but  much  smaller  than 
similar  districts  and  oases  about  Sinai.  Moreover,  almost 
the  whole  desert,  so  called,  shows  traces  of  ancient  cities 
and  fortifications  which  may  easily  date  to  the  period  of 
the  Exodus.  And  there  dwelt  the  Amorites  and  Hivites, 
into  conflict  with  whom  the  Children  of  Israel  came  during 
the  period  of  their  wanderings.  The  whole  district  is  so 
bare  and  destitute  of  water,  which  necessarily  includes 
other  means  of  sustenance,  that  it  fulfills  admirably  “that 
great  and  terrible  wilderness”  in  which  the  Children  of 
Israel  spent  the  weariest  years  of  their  history,  which  ex¬ 
perience  has  always  been  and  will  always  be  inseparably 
connected  with  their  bondage  in  Egypt  and  deliverance 
prior  to  their  entrance  into  the  Promised  Land. 

There  is  little  doubt  also,  when  the  light  of  real  dis¬ 
covery  is  focused  upon  this  section  of  the  Route,  that  many 


266 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


interesting  facts  will  appear  which,  in  turn,  will  modify  to 
a  greater  or  lesser  extent  our  understanding  and  conception 
of  that  which  preceded  and  that  which  followed  their  so¬ 
journ  at  Kadesh  Barnea.  And  here,  in  this  vicinity,  if 
ever,  will  be  found  material  remains  in  the  shape  of  lost 
or  mislaid  weapons,  utensils,  jewelry  or  coins  of  the  Children 
of  Israel  and  their  sojourn  in  the  Wilderness. 

Just  as  the  sands  of  Egypt  have  covered  and  kept  for 
us  the  marvelous  monuments  of  Egypt,  and  just  as  the 
hieroglyphics  of  once  unknown  languages  have  for  us  un¬ 
locked  their  treasures,  so  also  this  desert  waste  may  yet 
reveal  in  hitherto  unknown  forms  information  long  desired 
concerning  this  wonderful  event  of  human  history. 

Once  again  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  fact  that 
the  Children  of  Israel  were  not  “wanderers”  in  a  trackless 
waste  during  the  whole  of  the  forty  years.  There  was 
enough  desert  and  enough  hardship  to  justify  every  ref¬ 
erence  made  to  it,  but  it  is  now  clear  that  Kadesh  Barnea 
was  one  among  a  number  of  small  oases  which  supplied  an 
altogether  inadequate  and  precarious  water-supply  for 
even  the  reduced  numbers  of  the  Israelites.  I  am  using 
oases  in  the  sense  of  low  valleys  or  pockets  among  the  desert 
mountains  where  a  small  amount  of  moisture  was  collected 
and  retained.  But  if  present  climatic  conditions  pre¬ 
vailed  in  those  days,  as  we  have  every  reason  to  believe, 
there  must  have  been  many  a  year  in  those  thirty-seven 
when  half  the  oases  were  completely  dried  up  and  the 
people  with  their  flocks  reduced  to  dire  extremity.  And 
under  all  circumstances,  if  any  of  the  ancient  inhabitants 
remained  after  the  Hebrew  invasion,  then  there  must  have 
been  incessant  strife  over  the  wells  and  water-supply. 

Instead  of  “wandering,”  in  the  sense  “of  having  lost 
one’s  way,”  they  roamed  from  district  to  district  with  their 
flocks,  but  returned  sooner  or  later  to  the  central  encamp¬ 
ment  at  Kadesh  Barnea,  where,  no  doubt,  the  ark  remained 
during  most  of  the  period.  Numbers  14:33  gives  the 


Kadesh  Barnea  and  “Desert  of  Wanderings’’  267 

proper  sense  of  the  word,  where  the  Revised  Bible,  as  also 
the  Arabic,  places  “shepherds”  in  the  text  and  “wanderers” 
in  the  margin.  Furthermore,  the  Children  of  Israel  openly 
rebelled  against  Moses,  preferred  to  choose  another  leader 
and  return  to  Egypt  (Num.  14:4),  but  for  some  reason 
abandoned  this  and  completed  the  weary  years  about 
Kadesh  Barnea,  and  from  that  spot  made  their  final  march 
around  Edom  to  the  plains  of  Moab  and  down  past  Nebo 
to  the  Jordan  over  against  Jericho. 

With  the  exception  of  Sinai,  no  spot  is  more  memorable 
in  the  history  of  the  Exodus  than  Kadesh  Barnea.  Here, 
at  Kadesh,  Miriam  died  (Num.  20:1);  here  Korah  and 
his  company  rebelled  (Num.  16)  and,  in  God’s  providence, 
perished  by  sudden  death.  It  was  from  Kadesh  that  the 
spies  were  sent  in  advance  to  view  the  Promised  Land  and 
to  report  to  Moses  on  the  natural  features  and  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  Canaan  (Num.  13).  It  was  at  Kadesh  (Num.  20) 
that  a  miraculous  supply  of  water  was  obtained  when  ap¬ 
parently  the  ordinary  fountains  had  dried  up.  If  the  re¬ 
bellion  and  destruction  of  Korah  and  his  company  was  con¬ 
nected  with  an  earthquake,  then  this  event  may  have  had 
something  to  do  with  the  blocking  up  of  the  underground 
channels  by  the  falling  in  of  the  lime-stone  strata.  What¬ 
ever  may  have  been  the  cause,  drought  or  earthquake,  the 
restoration  of  the  water  flow  was  an  extraordinary  event, 
occurring  at  the  moment  of  the  interposition  of  Moses  by 
the  command  of  God.  And  in  some  way  Moses  acted  at 
variance  with  the  precise  direction  to  “speak  unto  the  rock” 
(Num.  20:  8)  and  struck  it  with  the  rod,  which  cost  him  his 
doom,  never  to  enter  the  Promised  Land,  but  only  to  see 
it  from  afar. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


AARON'S  HILL,  KIBROTH-HATTAAVAH  AND  THE  DESERT 

We  had  set  Tuesday,  March  2d,  as  the  day  of  our  de¬ 
parture  from  the  Monastery.  On  that  morning  I  took 
another  walk  through  the  lower  buildings  of  the  rambling 
fortress-monastery  in  company  with  Brother  Gabriel, 
who  gave  me  some  fine  gnarled  lumps  of  olive  wood  and  a 
good  piece  of  almond  tree,  which  we  sawed  with  no  little 
trouble  from  a  log  in  the  winter  wood-pile  of  the  monks. 
At  our  final  call  on  the  Abbot  we  inserted  our  names  in 
the  visitors’  book  which  has  been  kept  since  1897  only. 

Outside  the  Monastery  in  the  courtyard  was  a  strikingly 
motley  scene.  Sheikh  Musa  Bu  Nasir  and  his  son  Ibrahim, 
Moses  and  Abraham,  stood  like  statues,  speaking  now  and 
then  in  low  tones.  Numberless  cameleers  were  moving 
back  and  forth  to  the  Monastery  garden,  from  which  they 
were  carrying  our  camp  bundles  to  the  courtyard,  where 
the  loads  were  being  made  up  and  divided.  As  many  as 
thirty  were  thus  engaged,  while  fully  as  many  more  were 
knocking  at  the  outer  gate,  seeking  admission.  They  had 
gathered  from  all  quarters  of  the  peninsula,  summoned  by 
their  own  wireless  telegraphy,  each  one  claiming  or  hoping 
for  a  place  in  our  caravan  to  Akaba.  The  seventeen  or 
eighteen  who  had  come  with  us  from  Suez  had  received 
their  share  from  the  expedition,  and  none  but  the  head 
cameleer,  Sheikh  Hammadi,  was  to  go  on  with  us.  The 
Prior  of  the  Monastery  was  laying  down  the  law  to  the 
Arabs  and  now  and  then  signalling  to  the  gateman  to  admit 
a  few  more  of  the  hungry  fellows.  He  also  had  many  items 
of  business  to  transact  with  the  Arabs,  who  on  too  many 

268 


Aaron’s  Hill,  where  Golden  Calf  stood 
Tomb  of  the  Neby  Salih 


Aaron’s  Hill,  Kibroth-Hattaavah  and  the  Desert  269 


occasions  shunned  the  Monastery  because  of  little  debts, 
promises  unfulfilled,  or  duties  left  undone. 

The  semi-silence  was  oppressive  and  so  unusual  that  we 
almost  wished  for  the  customary  wrangle  and  noise.  But 
in  the  presence  of  the  Great  Sheikh,  whose  single  word  or 
gesture  was  to  determine  for  them  the  momentous  matter 
of  going  with  us  or  not,  all  wrangling  and  noise  were  bottled 
up  until  the  caravan  was  fairly  away  from  the  Monastery. 
Hammadi,  the  head  of  the  cameleers,  was  being  charged 
with  his  duties  about  setting  up  and  taking  down  the 
camp,  bringing  water  and  the  round  of  customary  services. 
Perhaps  no  one  was  repressing  more  inexpressible  feelings 
than  our  dragoman,  Milhem,  whose  pocket  was  deeply  con¬ 
cerned.  Between  Suez  and  Sinai  twenty-one  camels  had 
carried  us  and  our  outfit,  and  ordinarily  we  should  have 
needed  less  on  the  next  stage  because  certain  heavy  stores 
had  been  lightened  by  what  we  had  consumed,  but  the 
Arabs  were  too  much  for  him,  and  the  loads  were  so  broken 
up  and  rearranged  that  twenty-two  camels  were  needed, 
and  since  every  camel  meant  £2,  Milhem  was  correspond¬ 
ingly  depressed. 

After  we  had  attended  to  our  personal  baggage  we 
thought  we  might  as  well  say  good-bye  to  our  Monastery 
friends  and  the  Great  Sheikh,  and  not  embarrass  them  in 
their  final  financial  discussions  with  our  dragoman.  So  we 
bade  them  a  formal  good-bye  and  moved  out  of  the  enclosure 
with  our  riding  camels  and  turned  reluctantly  away  from  the 
interesting  scene  and  surroundings.  A  ride  of  some  twenty 
minutes  brought  us  to  the  mound  seen  in  Fig.  53,  which 
is  Aaron’s  Hill,  the  traditional  site  of  the  Golden  Calf. 
It  is  guarded  by  a  mean  little  building  containing  a  tomb 
and  the  usual  votive  offerings  of  the  region,  bits  of  rags 
and  camel  trappings.  From  the  top  of  this  mound  a  most 
comprehensive  view  is  obtained  of  the  whole  plain  of  er 
Rahah,  and  it  is  certain  that  any  ceremony  performed  upon 
its  summit  could  be  plainly  seen  by  all  the  people  standing 


270 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


in  the  plain  before  it.  It  is  also  fully  as  certain  that  any 
number  from  100,000  to  500,000,  or  perhaps  three  times 
that  number,  could  have  assembled  in  the  plain  as  spectators 
and  all  have  been  in  full  view  of  Aaron’s  Hill  and  the 
“ Mountain  of  the  Law.” 

It  was  more  than  two  hours  before  Milhem  and  the  cara¬ 
van  appeared  behind  us,  coming  slowly  down  from  the 
Monastery.  When  Milhem  arrived  it  was  plain  from  his 
flushed  face  and  crestfallen  air  that  he  had  had  a  severe 
tiff  with  the  Arabs  in  the  final  adjustment  of  the  loads  and 
the  number  of  camels  in  our  caravan.  We  had  had  already 
a  hint  of  the  difficulties  in  the  shape  of  a  messenger  who 
came  for  some  extra  pieces  of  gold,  but  Milhem’s  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  difficulties  and  the  wrangling  between  the  prior 
and  the  Arabs  and  himself  was  worth  a  great  deal  to  hear. 
It  was  the  old  story  of  a  hundred  different  bargains  and 
sublettings,  by  means  of  which  various  Arabs,  by  an  ex¬ 
change  of  camels  and  exchange  of  cameleers,  secured  another 
trial  balance  in  their  everlasting  adjustment  of  inter-tribal 
and  inter-family  accounts,  which  have  been  opened  and 
tangled  for  a  hundred  years  and  will  continue  so  until 
the  whole  lot  of  them  are  swept  from  the  face  of  the 
earth. 

Hence  it  was  12  o’clock  when  our  caravan  turned  out 
of  the  little  valley  into  the  great  Valley  Wady  esh  Sheikh. 
Here  we  turned  to  the  right,  between  the  high  cliffs  of  Jebel 
Fureia  on  the  left  and  the  Mountain  of  the  Cross  on  the 
right.  The  valley  at  this  point  is  not  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  wide  and  bears  generally  toward  the  northeast. 
We  followed  Wady  esh  Sheikh  for  about  two  hours  until 
opposite  the  tomb  of  Sheikh  Salih,  which  is  one  of  the 
most  sacred  spots  for  the  Arabs  in  all  the  peninsula.  It 
is  a  small  ugly  whitewashed  stone  hut  (Fig.  54)  and,  like 
all  the  other  sheikhs’  tombs  in  Sinai,  makes  no  pretence  at 
structural  beauty.  The  tomb  consists  of  two  small  rooms 
or  buildings,  in  one  of  which  the  coffin  or  tomb  of  the 


Aaron’s  Hill,  Kibroth-Hattaavah  and  the  Desert  271 

saint  is  surrounded  by  a  wooden  partition  hung  with 
cloth,  on  which  are  suspended  handkerchiefs,  camels’ 
halters  and  other  offerings  of  the  Bedawin.  Palmer  at¬ 
tempts  to  identify  this  Bedawin  saint  with  Moses  himself, 
and  there  are  many  considerations  which  bring  this  within 
the  realm  of  possibilities.  The  meaning  of  Neby  Salih  is 
“the  righteous  prophet.” 

Palmer  also  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  annual 
festival  which  takes  place  at  the  tomb  and  is  considered  the 
great  national  event  of  the  year.  The  Towarah  Arabs 
come  from  every  quarter  of  the  peninsula  accompanied  by 
their  wives  and  families  and  spend  several  days  in  feasting 
and  festival  about  the  tomb.1 

Several  travellers  have  spoken  in  their  writings  as  though 
these  Sinai  Arabs,  while  mainly  Moslems,  made  no  exhibi¬ 
tion  of  their  religion  in  the  observance  of  prayer  or  other¬ 
wise.  Certainly  we  could  not  agree  with  this  observation, 
because  again  and  again  during  our  intercourse  with  them, 
in  fact,  I  might  say  daily,  our  head  cameleer  Hammadi  led 
all  who  were  willing  through  the  regular  Moslem  prayers. 
More  than  twenty  times  during  our  trip  I  was  awakened 
before  the  dawn  by  the  voice  of  these  men  at  their  prayers. 
They  did  not,  however,  kneel  at  noon  nor  at  sunset,  and  it 
may  be  that  other  travellers  failing  to  note  this  exceeding 
early  morning  prayer,  have  made  the  mistaken  remark 
referred  to. 

Beyond  Sinai  the  Route  of  the  Exodus  for  a  journey  of 
three  or  four  days  is  fixed  beyond  a  peradventure  by 
the  configuration  of  the  valleys,  the  one  or  two  well-fixed 
locations  and  the  water-supply.  The  route  leaving  Sinai 
trends  generally  northward  and  leaves  the  valley  exactly 
at  the  tomb  of  Neby  Salih.  Crossing  the  little  spur  to 
the  left  of  the  tomb  (Fig.  54),  we  entered  the  side  valley  of 
Wady  es  Suweiriyeh,  in  which,  after  passing  a  small  well 
which  never  fails  and  two  small  enclosed  gardens,  we 

1  “  P.  D.  E. p.  218. 


272 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


climbed  the  narrow  roadway,  and  in  a  little  more  than  an 
hour  reached  the  watershed. 

All  the  valleys  through  which  we  had  passed  between 
Suez  and  Sinai  drained  into  the  Gulf  of  Suez.  Beyond 
this  divide  the  waters  flowed  eastward  into  the  Gulf  of 
Akaba,  and  from  this  watershed  our  pathway  was  almost 
a  continual  descent  for  the  next  three  days. 

Beyond  this  divide  the  aspect  of  the  country  changed 
instantly.  We  looked  over  into  a  wide  plateau  filled  with 
thorn  bushes  and  herbage  where  grazed  hundreds  of  camels 
and  thousands  of  sheep,  lambs  and  she  asses.  There  was  a 
complete  absence  of  the  ravines  and  shattered  rocky  masses 
among  which  we  had  been  travelling  for  so  many  days. 
The  whole  sky  line  took  on  a  softer,  smoother  look,  and 
the  slopes  and  bases  of  the  mountains  lost  the  sharp,  for¬ 
bidding  aspect  of  Sinai.  We  had  passed  suddenly  from 
the  granite  into  the  limestone  formation,  and  an  hour  and 
a  half  later,  at  our  camping-place,  our  barometers  regis¬ 
tered  a  drop  of  1400  feet  below  our  camp  in  Sinai.  Here, 
on  one  of  the  elevated  stretches  of  this  water-shed,  has 
been  discovered  another  interesting  series  of  ancient  in¬ 
scriptions.  The  Arabs  know  the  spot  by  the  name  of  Er 
Weis  el  Ebeirig.  On  the  summit  of  a  small  hill  is  an  erec¬ 
tion  of  rough  stones  surmounted  by  a  conspicuous  white 
block  shaped  like  a  pyramid,  and  extending  for  miles. 
The  surrounding  slopes  are  covered  with  small  enclosures 
of  stones.1 

Palmer  and  Drake  carefully  examined  this  whole  district, 
and  found  abundant  evidence  of  charcoal  marking  ancient 
fire-places,  settling  the  fact  of  its  being  a  deserted  camp. 
And  outside  the  camp  numbers  of  stone  heaps,  which  from 
their  shape  and  position  could  be  nothing  else  than  graves. 
Arab  tradition  declares  these  curious  remains  to  be  “the 
relics  of  a  large  pilgrim  or  Hajj  caravan,  who,  in  remote 
ages,  pitched  their  tents  at  this  spot  on  their  way  to  Ain 

1  “  P.  D.  E.,”  p.212. 


Aaron’s  Hill,  Kibroth-Hattaavah  and  the  Desert  273 

Hudherah  (Hazeroth)  and  who  were  soon  afterward  lost 
in  the  Desert  of  the  Tih  and  never  heard  of  again.”  For 
many  reasons  Palmer  and  others  believe  this  legend  to 
be  authentic,  referring  to  the  Israelites,  and  that  in  the 
scattered  stones  of  this  secluded  spot  we  have  found  real 
traces  of  the  Exodus.  The  reference  to  the  caravan 
as  having  “lost  their  way,”  which  is  the  same  Arabic  verb 
through  which  the  name  Tih  or  “Wilderness  of  the  Wander¬ 
ing”  is  derived,  is  certainly  a  striking  fact.  Description 
of  these  wanderers  as  a  “Hajj”  caravan,  apparently  con¬ 
necting  them  with  the  Moslem  pilgrimage,  is  not  a  diffi¬ 
culty,  because  this  very  term  “Hajj”  has  its  exact  counter¬ 
part  in  the  Hebrew,  where  it  means  “a  festival,”  and  is 
“the  identical  word  used  in  Exodus  10:9  to  express  the 
ceremony  which  the  Children  of  Israel  alleged  as  their 
reason  for  wishing  to  leave  Egypt,  viz.:  To  hold  a  Feast 
unto  the  Lord  in  the  Wilderness.’  ”  We  know  nothing  of 
Muhammadan  caravans  in  modern  times  that  have  passed 
this  way,  but  the  Children  of  Israel  who  journeyed  to 
Hazeroth  did  so,  and  here  comes  in  a  double  confirmation, 
making  it  certain  that  this  and  no  other  was  the  Route  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  on  leaving  Sinai. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  coming  of  the  quails 
across  the  Akaba  arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  which  must  have  been 
about  the  month  of  May,  when  the  quails  migrate  north¬ 
ward.  The  Children  of  Israel  remained,  as  we  know, 
about  Sinai  for  a  period  of  eleven  months,  and  here,  just 
a  year  later,  they  have  a  second  experience  with  another 
migration  of  the  same  migratory  birds.  It  is  to  just  such 
a  grassy  and  herbage-covered  plateau  that  these  great  flocks 
of  quails  would  naturally  make  their  way,  so  that  there  is 
no  good  reason  for  the  contention  of  the  critics  that  the 
two  accounts  (Exodus  16:  13;  Numbers  11:31-35)  refer 
to  one  and  the  same  event,  because  there  is  exactly  a  year 
between  them,  and,  as  has  been  shown,  the  location  of  the 
first  event  was  the  natural  landing-place  for  the  quails  after 
18 


274 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


their  flight  over  the  arm  of  the  Red  Sea;  so  here  also  is 
another  natural  resting-place  just  beyond  the  bare  granite 
mountains  where  the  quails  would  naturally  congregate 
on  their  migratory  journey  northward.  Hence  it  is  much 
more  than  probable  that  here  occurred  the  event  referred  to 
in  Numbers  n:  31,  where  “there  went  forth  a  wind  from 
the  Lord  and  brought  quails  from  the  sea,  and  let  them  fall 
by  the  camp,  about  a  day’s  journey  on  this  side,  and  a 
day’s  journey  on  the  other  side,  round  about  the  camp  and 
about  two  cubits  above  (meaning  flying  two  cubits  above) 
the  face  of  the  earth.  And  the  people  rose  up  all  that  day 
and  all  the  night,  and  all  the  next  day,  and  gathered  the 
quails;  he  that  gathered  least  gathered  ten  homers,  and 
they  spread  them  all  abroad  for  themselves  round  about 
the  camp.  While  the  flesh  was  yet  between  their  teeth, 
ere  it  was  chewed,  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against 
the  people  and  the  Lord  smote  the  people  with  a  very  great 
plague.  And  the  name  of  that  place  was  called  Kibroth- 
hattaavah;  because  there  they  buried  the  people  that 
lusted.”  This,  then,  is  almost  certainly  Kibroth-hattaavah 
or  the  “graves  of  lust,”  because  here  “  they  buried  the  peo¬ 
ple  that  lusted.” 

After  what  has  been  written  concerning  the  desolation 
and  changeless  aspect  of  the  desert  between  Suez  and  Sinai, 
as  well  as  the  facts  recorded  at  Maghareh  and  Serabit,  of 
ancient  ruins  untouched  by  human  hands  since  the  12  th 
century  B.  C.,  it  is  neither  strange  nor  impossible  that  the 
remains  of  this  particular  camp  should  remain  undisturbed 
until  this  present  day.  Had  these  events  occurred  in  any 
of  the  winding  valleys  of  Sinai,  they  must,  of  necessity, 
have  disappeared  under  the  drifting  sands,  or  have  been 
swept  away  for  ever  by  the  mountain  torrents  which  devas¬ 
tate  these  valleys  at  more  or  less  remote  periods  of  time. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  interesting  remains  are  found 
along  the  reaches  of  the  watershed  just  outside  the  granite 
district  of  Sinai,  where  naught  but  the  winds  and  the  sun- 


Aaron’s  Hill,  Kibroth-Hattaavah  and  the  Desert  275 

shine  have  disturbed  them  through  all  the  centuries  which 
have  passed. 

For  an  hour  beyond  this  interesting  spot  on  the  water¬ 
shed  we  continued  our  way  among  the  hill  tops.  The 
backward  views  of  the  jagged  granite  sky  line  and  of  Sinai 
were  grand,  especially  as  more  and  more  of  the  rolling 
plateau  fell  behind  us  and  made  a  softer  foreground  for 
the  weird  mountain  masses  beyond.  Leaving  the  water¬ 
shed,  we  struck  other  long  sloping  plains,  and  after  an  hour 
and  a  quarter  along  this  gentle  descent  we  reached  our 
camp  at  the  head  of  Wady  es  Saal. 

On  our  way  down  we  had  noted  the  tracks  of  many  ga¬ 
zelles  and  toward  sunset  heard  the  familiar  call  of  the  male 
partridge.  Shouldering  both  shot-gun  and  rifle,  I  took  a 
long  stroll  through  the  hills  on  the  left  of  our  camp,  but 
was  not  fortunate  enough  to  get  sight  of  either  gazelle  or 
bird.  The  next  day,  however,  as  we  wound  our  way 
through  the  narrow  valley,  I  did  succeed  in  bagging  sev¬ 
eral  of  these  splendid,  gamey  birds. 

Our  chief  occupation  in  that  morning  ride  was  looking 
for  game,  watching  the  gradual  fall  of  our  barometers  and 
marking  the  greatly  changed  appearance  of  the  landscape 
by  limestone  and  sandstone  slopes  instead  of  granite 
cliffs.  About  noon  we  faced  a  long  hill  or  mountain 
which  apparently  completely  blocked  the  widening  valley 
as  we  moved  toward  the  northeast.  It  was  capped  by  a 
remarkable  flat  table-like  covering  of  red  stone,  either  sand¬ 
stone  or  granite,  from  30  to  50  feet  thick.  We  should  like 
to  have  climbed  and  more  carefully  examined  the  mass. 
At  luncheon  time  we  found  a  little  nook  on  the  side  of  the 
main  valley  and  took  luncheon  under  the  shadow  of  a  most 
remarkable  bit  of  sandstone  rock.  Elsewhere  (p.  63)  I 
have  dwelt  upon  the  wonderful  carving  power  of  the  desert 
winds,  when  converted  by  means  of  the  shifting  sand  into  a 
natural  sandblast,  even  upon  the  hardest  granite.  But  in 
Wady  es  Saal  we  noted  the  same  marvelous  action  in  the 


276 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


softer  sandstone.  In  the  little  nook  where  we  stopped  for 
luncheon  there  was  an  isolated  mass  of  whitish  sandstone 
not  less  than  15  feet  high,  shaped  like  a  human  neck  and 
head,  over  which  seemed  to  have  been  thrown  a  Brobdig- 
nagian  wig  of  reddish  hair.  On  closer  inspection  it  turned 
out  to  be  (see  Fig.  55)  the  most  remarkable  specimen  of 
wind  carving  that  any  of  us  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of. 
The  softer  whitish  sandstone  underneath  had  been  cut 
away  until  the  upper  tufts  of  the  negligent  sandstone  wig 
stood  out  in  extremely  natural  relief,  as  can  easily  be  seen 
from  the  shadows  in  the  photograph.  The  size  of  the 
detached  mass  can  be  understood  better  by  comparing  the 
middle  squatting  figure,  which  is  that  of  Milhem  gathering 
up  the  remains  of  our  luncheon.  Mr.  Taylor,  with  his  wide 
curtained  hat,  is  seen  on  the  left,  while  Dr.  Goucher  was 
engaged  in  photographing  the  same  object. 

Robinson1  refers  to  the  strict  honesty  of  the  Bedawin 
among  themselves,  however  little  regard  they  may  have 
to  the  rights  of  property  in  others.  He  instances  the 
fact  that  if  an  Arab’s  camel  should  die  on  the  road  and  he 
cannot  remove  the  load,  he  simply  draws  a  circle  in  the 
sand  round  about  and  leaves  it,  if  necessary,  for  months, 
and  in  passing  through  Wady  es  Saal  on  his  way  to  Akaba 
he  saw  a  black  tent  hung  in  a  tree.  His  guides  told  him 
that  it  was  there  a  year  before  and  would  never  be  stolen. 
At  somewhere  about  the  same  spot  we  were  surprised  by 
seeing  a-  good  number  of  charcoal  bags,  axes  and  other  im¬ 
plements  of  charcoal  making,  hung  among  the  trees. 
We  naturally  looked  about  for  the  owners  of  this  property, 
and,  seeing  no  one,  asked  the  meaning  of  it.  Our  cameleers 
gave  us  practically  the  same  answer,  and  added  that  we 
had  met  the  owners  of  these  bags  a  day  beyond  Feiran 
where  we  had  seen  them  carrying  loads  of  charcoal  to  the 
Suez  market,  and  that  they  never  hesitated  leaving  their 

1  “  Biblical  Researches,”  Vol.  I,  p.  142. 


A  Wig  of  Stone  carved  by  the  Winds 
“The  Hill  of  the  Hajj’’  Pilgrims 


Aaron’s  Hill,  Kibroth-Hattaavah  and  the  Desert  277 

surplus  bags  and  tools  by  the  wayside  until  they  returned 
from  their  journey  to  Suez. 

We  left  the  Wady  es  Saal  (2985  feet)  at  2  o’clock  in  the 
afternoon,  where  we  swung  eastward;  bearing  to  the 
northeast  we  slowly  climbed  a  rocky  slope  of  another 
watershed  where  our  barometers  registered  3084  feet,  and 
in  about  twenty-five  minutes  we  began  to  drop  from  the 
watershed  into  Wady  Genah,  by  a  narrow  path  winding 
among  the  hillocks  on  either  side  of  it.  These  hillocks 
are  masses  of  grunstein  capped  with  sandstone. 

Out  of  Wady  Genah  we  passed  into  Wady  Muarra  or 
Murrah,  a  sandy  region  full  of  low  ridges  and  dotted  with 
hills  and  weird  crags  of  various  colored  sandstone.  Other 
travellers  have  often  missed  their  way  at  this  spot.  The 
district  would  be  a  fearful  one  in  which  to  meet  a  sandstorm 
such  as  we  encountered  at  the  Wells  of  Moses.  Our  course 
led  over  another  sandy  watershed  and  into  Wady  Shukaa, 
an  open  sandy  plain  extending  to  the  foot  of  the  Tih  plateau 
perhaps  an  hour  away,  which  here  kept  its  well-known 
character  of  a  cliff  or  wall.  Swinging  toward  the  left  we 
gradually  approached  a  most  prominent  and  strange  look¬ 
ing  isolated  mass  of  colored  sandstone  a  mile  or  two  away 
from  the  base  of  the  great  limestone  cliff  of  the  plateau, 
where  our  tents  had  already  been  pitched  for  the  night 
(Fig.  56).  The  nearer  we  came,  the  more  beautiful  ap¬ 
peared  this  detached  mountain  of  sandstone  with  our 
white  tents  gleaming  at  its  base.  Although  the  films  for 
my  swing  camera  were  rapidly  growing  less,  I  took  a  view 
in  the  afternoon  light  (Fig.  57)  which  gives  a  suggestion  of 
the  mass  and  the  surrounding  plain,  with  the  wall  of  the 
Tih  plateau  visible  in  the  distance  behind  and  to  the 
right. 

This  many  colored  mass  is  called  Hudheibat  Flajjaj, 
“the  hill  of  the  Hajj  pilgrims,”  again  reminding  us  of  the 
tradition  which  clings  to  Kibroth-hattaavah.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  weird  and  memorable  camping-places  in  all  our 


278 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


journey.  Waterless,  silent,  desolate,  and  yet  possessing 
the  fascinations  of  the  desert  to  an  overmastering  degree. 
Again  and  again  during  the  night  I  stepped  out  of  my  tent 
to  enjoy  the  beauties  of  the  scene. 

The  vari-colored  sandstone  and  our  barometers  had 
silently  (from  5200  feet  at  Sinai  to  2600  at  this  desert  camp) 
told  us  plainly  that  we  had  reached  one  of  the  geological 
bays  in  which  nature  had  deposited  the  same  sandstone 
strata  on  the  west  side  of  the  continuation  of  the  Arabah 
as  those  found  on  the  east  side  which  contain  the  glories 
of  Petra.1  These  variegated  strata  in  this  isolated  mass 
were  undoubtedly  of  the  same  age  and  origin.  It  seemed 
like  getting  nearer  home  to  find  the  same  beautiful  effects 
that  make  Petra  an  ineffaceable  memory  of  beauty — “a 
rose  red  city  half  as  old  as  Time.” 

During  the  afternoon  and  after  sunrise  the  next  day  we 
could  not  but  mark  and  enjoy  what  in  other  lands  and 
times  had  seemed  only  a  bit  of  poetic  fancy,  but  was 
now  a  delicious  and  never-to-be-forgotten  experience, 
‘The  shadow  of  this  great  rock  in  a  weary  land.” 

1  “  J.  V.  and  P.,”  Vol.  II,  pp.  1 14-143. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE  OASIS  OF  HAZEROTH 

We  left  our  camp  by  the  “great  rock”  at  7  A.  M.  and  for 
about  an  hour  kept  in  an  open  valley  sloping  southward. 
Then  we  climbed  a  slope  which  bore  nearly  eastward  and 
in  half  an  hour  entered  Wady  Guline,  a  narrow  shallow 
valley  descending  to  the  northeast.  After  passing  beyond 
a  flat  table-like  hill  (8.45  A.  M.)  we  crossed  a  stony  divide 
and  into  what  are  called  Mutalia  Hadrah,  “the  goings  up  to 
Hudherah,”  a  number  of  sand-covered  slopes  which  narrow 
into  a  sort  of  pass.  At  10.15  A.  M.,  a  little  over  three 
hours  from  our  desert  camp,  we  had  another  tiresome 
stretch  over  the  sandy  plains,  and  winding  among  weird 
sandstone  cliffs  and  crags  we  entered  the  break  in  the  lime¬ 
stone  hills  and  suddenly  looked  down  into  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  romantic  nooks  of  the  peninsula.  It  was 
Ain  Hudherah,  the  Hazeroth  of  the  Exodus  (Num.  n:  35, 
12:  16),  where  Miriam  and  Aaron  spoke  against  Moses 
because  he  had  married  a  Cushite  woman.  Here  Miriam 
was  stricken  “leprous  as  white  as  snow”  and  “shut  up 
without  the  camp  seven  days,  and  the  people  journeyed 
not  till  Miriam  was  brought  in  again.” 

Now  the  exceeding  great  importance  of  this  location  is 
the  fact  that  it  fixes  the  Route  of  the  Children  of  Israel 
when  they  left  Sinai.  It  is  the  third  station  in  the  Itin¬ 
erary  (Num.  33),  and  either  four  or  five  days  from  that 
mountain.  The  identity  of  the  Arabic  and  Hebrew  names 
is  beyond  question,  and  the  distance  of  about  eighteen 
hours  from  Sinai  fits  the  documents  as  the  key  fits  the 
lock  And,  as  we  shall  find,  the  meaning  of  the  word 

279 


280 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Hazeroth  (“walled  enclosures”)  matches  the  natural  fea¬ 
tures  with  a  nicety  that  surprises  and  delights. 

Many  travellers,  like  Robinson,  were  led  by  their  guides 
and  cameleers  over  the  rough  slopes  and  ravines  to  the 
east  without  ever  suspecting  that  at  least  at  one  point 
they  were  within  fifteen  minutes  of  the  cleft  through  which 
one  could  view  this  charming  specimen  of  an  oasis  and  about 
which  hang  memories  of  this  rebellious  and  then  repentant 
Miriam,  the  sister  of  Moses.  Those  who  cross  the  desert 
below  and  east  of  the  oasis  have  noted  the  many  “paths,” 
called  “Mawared  el  Hudhera,”  leading  to  the  famous  spot, 
and  many  have  drunk  from  its  limpid  waters  without  see¬ 
ing  it,  who  would  have  given  half  their  journey  to  have 
entered  the  charming  nook.  As  far  as  is  known,  Palmer 
and  Holland  (1870)  seem  to  be  the  first  Europeans  who  ever 
visited  it.  This  fact  strikingly  illustrates  the  way  in  which 
misunderstanding  and  suspicion  can  grow  up  concerning 
the  existence  and  location  of  such  a  fountain  as  Ain  Kadis 
— Kadesh  Barnea.  Some  traveller  on  good  terms  with 
his  guides  is  shown  a  nook  or  a  fountain  that  is  absolutely 
denied  to  other  travellers  years  afterward.  We  had 
this  same  experience  with  guides  in  Petra,  who  frequently 
assured  us  that  there  were  no  more  sculptures  or  excava¬ 
tions  in  a  certain  direction,  where  we  afterward  saw  some 
of  the  most  interesting  things  in  the  Rock  City. 

So  I  am  sure  that  never  in  all  our  long  journey  did  we  so 
quickly  dismount  from  our  camels  and  unpack  our  cameras 
as  we  did  that  day  (March  4, 1909)  when  we  peeped  through 
that  interesting  cleft  in  the  white  limestone  and  looked 
from  the  edge  of  the  cliff  down  into  the  oasis  of  Ain  Hud- 
herah.  Panorama  58  was  taken  with  the  swing  camera 
from  a  point  a  little  lower  down  than  where  we  obtained 
our  first  glimpse,  and  still  fully  half  a  mile  away  from  the 
little  oasis  and  at  least  300  feet  above  it.  The  little  patch 
of  palm  trees  in  exactly  the  center  of  the  photo  marks  the 
location  of  the  flowing  fountain.  One  of  our  camels  can 


The  Oasis  of  Hazeroth 


281 


be  seen  coming  round  from  the  left  toward  Dr.  Goucher, 
leaning  against  the  rock.  While  below,  half-way  to  the 
oasis,  stands  a  second  camel,  just  where  the  winding 
road  emerges  from  the  sandstone  ravines  and  gullies  down 
which  we  wound  for  fully  half  an  hour  before  we  emerged 
upon  the  white  and  yellow  sands. 

Panorama  59  gives  a  nearer  view  and  reveals  the  “ walled 
enclosure”  feature  of  the  oasis,  which  has  led  one  recent 
traveller  to  call  the  gigantic  cavity  a  “bowl  of  rocks.” 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  cavity  is  a  rough  parallelogram, 
with  the  cliff  rising  300  feet  on  three  of  the  sides.  The 
side  from  which  we  are  looking  is  about  300  feet  long,  the 
longer  side  some  2000,  and  the  farther  end  not  less  than 
800  feet.  The  walls,  like  the  cavity  at  Petra,  are  of  sand¬ 
stone,  and  much  of  the  great  charm  of  the  place  is  due  to 
the  brilliant  coloring.  These  rocks,  heavily  stained  with 
iron,  have  the  effect  in  the  brilliant  sunshine  of  marbles 
on  a  gigantic  scale.  The  sands  beneath,  the  result  of  the 
mouldering  rock,  lose  their  coloring  and  are  a  brilliant 
yellowish  white  in  the  clear  noonday  light. 

Figure  61  gives  a  bit  of  the  winding  road  on  the  way 
down,  and  Figure  62  the  charming  natural  gateway  through 
which  we  entered  the  beautiful  oasis.  Panorama  60, 
taken  from  a  point  over  against  the  rocky  wall,  shows  the 
double  group  of  palm  trees,  perhaps  200  in  all,  which  get 
their  life  from  the  fountain  which  eternally  fights  its  way 
through  the  drifting  white  sands.  Among  the  palm  trees 
were  the  red  blossoms  of  the  pomegranate  and  other 
smaller  trees  and  shrubs,  forming  a  bewitching  mass  of 
beautiful  green  in  its  frame  of  desolation.  Our  barometers 
at  the  fountain  registered  690  meters  or  about  2265  feet. 

Palmer,1  who  saw  it  toward  sunset,  was  deeply  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  beauty  of  the  scene,  and  described  how 
“through  a  steep  and  rugged  gorge,  with  almost  perpen¬ 
dicular  sides,  we  looked  down  upon  a  wady-bed  that  winds 

X“P.  D.  E.,”  p.  214. 


282 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


along  between  fantastic  sandstone  rocks,  now  rising  in 
the  semblance  of  mighty  walls  or  terraced  palaces,  now 
jutting  out  in  pointed  ridges — rocky  promontories  in  a 
sandy  sea.  Beyond  this  lies  a  perfect  forest  of  mountain 
peaks  and  chains,  and  on  their  left  a  broad  white  wady 
leads  up  toward  the  distant  mountains  of  the  Tih.  But 
the  great  charm  of  the  landscape  lies  in  its  rich  and  varied 
coloring;  the  sandstone,  save  where  some  great  block 
has  fallen  away  and  displayed  the  dazzling  whiteness  of 
the  stone  beneath,  is  weathered  to  a  dull  red  or  violet  hue, 
through  which  run  streaks  of  the  brightest  yellow  and 
scarlet,  mixed  with  rich  dark  purple  tints.  Here  and 
there  a  hill  or  dike  of  green  stone,  or  a  rock  of  rosy  granite, 
contrasts  or  blends  harmoniously  with  the  rest;  and  in  the 
midst,  beneath  a  lofty  cliff,  nestles  the  dark  green  palm 
grove  of  Hazeroth.  This  picture,  framed  in  the  jagged 
cleft  and  lit  up  by  the  evening  sun,  with  the  varied  tints 
and  shades  upon  its  mountain  background,  and  the  awful 
stillness  that  might  be  seen  as  Egypt’s  darkness  could  be 
felt,  was  such  a  landscape  as  none  but  the  Great  Artist’s 
hand  could  have  designed.” 

The  main  stream  of  the  fountain  comes  from  a  small 
tunnel,  at  the  inner  end  of  which  is  a  cleft  in  the  apparently 
solid  rock.  Outside  the  tunnel  is  also  a  deep  open  cutting 
for  some  30  feet,  and  then  begin  the  gardens  where  a  deaf 
and  dumb  Bedawy  watched  the  few  spots  sown  with  wheat, 
turning  the  stream  from  place  to  place  until  it  was  lost  in 
the  drifts  of  thirsty  white  sand.  Because  of  the  two  groups 
of  palms  it  would  almost  seem  that  there  was  a  double 
fountain  or  some  sort  of  a  tunnel  which  carried  the  precious 
water  across  the  strip  of  sand  which  lies  between  the  two 
groups.  The  weary  traveller  coming  upon  this  delightful 
nook  from  any  point  of  the  compass  will  never  forget  the 
sight  of  the  wonderful  little  oasis. 

Palmer  noted  the  remains  of  several  well-constructed 
walls  which  he  suggests  point  to  a  former  and  perhaps 


I  he  Oasis  of  Hazeroth— Note  double  clumps  of  trees.  Water  issues  just  behind  largest  trees  in  center 


The  Oasis  of  Hazeroth 


283 


Christian  occupation  of  the  place.  “The  present  owners, 
two  members  of  the  Emzeineh  tribe,  took  us  to  see  a  large 
crack  in  the  flat  surface  of  the  rock  behind  the  spring,  and 
called  the  Bab  er  Rum  or  ‘Christian’s  Gate.’  They  say 
that  the  ancient  inhabitants  opened  a  door  in  the  mountain 
and  constructed  a  passage  through  it  to  their  own  country, 
Rum  (or  Asia  Minor),  and,  having  built  a  city  within  the 
subterranean  depths  and  conveyed  thither  an  incalculable 
treasure,  they  closed  it  up  after  them  by  the  same  magical 
arts  which  had  enabled  them  to  effect  an  entry.” 

At  least  four  well-known  roads  converge  here  in  the  oasis ; 
the  one  we  had  followed  from  Sinai  and  the  one  we  took 
northward  to  Akaba,  then  through  a  nagb  or  pass  up 
into  the  Tih  plateau  runs  a  trail  which  soon  separates  into 
two  roads,  one  of  which  makes  straight  for  Suez  and  the 
other  for  Gaza  and  the  borders  of  Palestine.  This  latter 
road  is  called  “derb  Ghazzy,”  or  the  Shammiyeh,  that  is, 
leading  to  the  left  when  our  face  is  toward  the  sunrising. 
Naoum  Beg  Shucair  assured  us  that  these  two  distances 
to  Suez  and  Gaza  were  practically  equal,  and  we  received 
the  same  answer  from  our  guides  and  cameleers.  The 
Arab  can  often  give  you  a  relative  estimate  when  asked  at 
any  point  on  a  road  concerning  the  distance  to  a  known 
location  in  one  direction  and  a  known  location  in  another, 
but  he  cannot  give  any  accurate  estimate  in  hours,  much 
less  in  miles,  as  we  measure. 

The  importance  of  this  matter  of  the  roads  lies  in  the 
possibility  of  the  Children  of  Israel  having  turned  into  the 
“desert  of  the  Wanderings”  at  this  point,  and  thus  of  reach¬ 
ing  Kadesh  Barnea  by  a  route  other  than  that  we  were  now 
following  to  Ezion  Geber. 

Another  reader  may  have  asked,  “How  could  even  your 
reduced  numbers  of  the  Children  of  Israel  ever  be  ac¬ 
commodated  at  such  an  oasis?”  The  answer,  again,  is  a 
simple  one  and  comes  easily  to  one  who  has  any  real  knowl¬ 
edge  of  nomad  life.  At  Sinai  I  pointed  out  the  fact  that 


284 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


while  the  Tabernacle  may  have  stood  in  the  Plain  of  er- 
Rahah  before  the  ‘traditional  Mountain  of  the  Law,” 
the  main  encampment  must  have  been  at  the  oasis  of  Feiran, 
with  perhaps  smaller  encampments  all  the  way  to  Sinai. 
So  here  at  Hazeroth,  while  only  a  small  portion  of  the  host 
could  have  encamped  within  “the  enclosure,”  there  are  a 
hundred  wide  spaces  within  a  few  hours’  journey  of  the 
fountain  where  all  the  Children  of  Israel  could  have  abun¬ 
dant  room.  Nomads  are  not  as  dependent  upon  water  for 
drinking  purposes,  much  less  for  washing,  as  we  dwellers 
in  other  lands.  The  most  important,  nay  the  only  import¬ 
ant,  matter  is  to  get  water  for  their  flocks.  A  Bedawin  has 
been  known  to  live  days  on  milk  alone,  but  his  flocks  must 
have  water.  Now,  with  such  a  water-supply  as  at  Hazer¬ 
oth  almost  any  number  of  flocks  could  be  cared  for.  For 
all  day  at  such  watering-places  there  is  often  an  almost 
unbroken  succession  of  shepherds,  who  lead  flock  after 
flock  to  the  troughs,  and  without  delay  move  onward  and 
make  way  for  others.  And  I  can  well  imagine  that  the 
Children  of  Israel,  journeying  as  they  must  have  done, 
would  have  been  days  arriving  at  Hazeroth  and  days  in 
leaving  such  a  spot  with  their  flocks.  And  I  am  fully 
prepared  to  agree  that  the  locations  mentioned  in  the 
Itinerary  of  Numbers  33  are  in  every  instance  the  resting- 
places  of  the  Ark  and  the  Tabernacle,  which,  after  Sinai, 
was  the  visible  center  of  the  moving  host,  no  matter  how 
far  ahead  some  detachments  may  have  gotten  or  how  far 
behind  others.  This  supposition  and  explanation  is,  to 
my  mind,  the  only  one  and  the  complete  one  to  explain 
the  large  number  of  stations  (20  stages)  between  Sinai  and 
Ezion  Geber.  Taberah  (Numbers  11:3)  and  Kibroth- 
hattaavah  are  two  stops  between  Sinai  and  Hazeroth,  a 
distance  of  eighteen  hours  by  camel,  much  of  which  was 
through  a  comparatively  open  country.  But  as  the  great 
host  entered  the  narrower  valleys  they  could  not  possibly 
move  a  total  distance  or  more  than  three  or  four  hours  daily, 


Steep  Descent  into  the  Oasis 
Natural  Gateway  to  Hazeroth 


The  Oasis  of  Hazeroth 


285 


and  hence  fully  twenty  stops  or  stages  would  be  made 
before  they  reached  Ezion  Geber,  which,  according  to  our 
modern  camel  trail,  is  eight  days’  going  from  Sinai.  This 
seems  to  me  a  much  more  reasonable  explanation  than  to 
force  the  Route  up  into  the  desert  plateau,  where  the 
Children  of  Israel  must  “wander”  in  order  to  get  the  stages 
in.  And  the  reason  why  we  have  as  yet  picked  up  only 
four  or  five  of  the  ancient  names  on  this  section  of  the  Route 
is  the  simple  fact  that  the  locations  were  most  of  them 
named  from  local  or  transitory  events  within  the  host,  in 
just  the  same  way  as  we  travellers  name  our  own  desert 
camps  when  we  settle  down  in  the  desert  away  from  any 
well-known  natural  objects. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


FROM  HAZEROTH  TO  EZION  GEBER 

The  most  natural  and  easy  gateway  into  or  out  of  the 
Oasis  of  Hazeroth  or  Hudherah  is  the  valley  of  the  same 
name,  which,  beginning  at  the  oasis,  slopes  almost  due  north 
for  some  two  hours  (5  miles)  and  empties  into  Wady 
Ghazaleh.  During  these  two  hours  our  barometers  made 
a  drop  from  690  meters  (2265  feet)  to  535  meters  (1755  feet) 
at  the  junction  of  the  two  valleys.  Then  we  followed  Wady 
Ghazaleh  for  three  hours  and  a  quarter  as  it  wound  be¬ 
tween  its  almost  perpendicular  walls  of  sandstone  until  it 
ended  in  Wady  el  Ain,  where  we  pitched  our  camp  above 
the  fountains  and  at  an  elevation  of  only  250  meters  (800 
feet)  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

This  day  proved  to  be  another  of  those  strikingly  im¬ 
pressive  sections  of  our  journey.  The  country  through 
which  we  passed  is  a  frightful  desert.  In  some  nooks  of  the 
two  valleys  there  were  herbs  and  shrubs,  but  by  far  the 
greater  part  was  endless  stretches  of  sand  between  rugged 
sandstone  hills,  completely  destitute  of  any  trace  of  vege¬ 
tation.  There  was  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  finding 
the  road,  because  it  is  one  of  nature’s  own  roadways.  The 
valley  of  Huderah,  with  its  wide,  gently  sloping  stretches 
opening  into  that  of  Ghazaleh,  whose  perpendicular  walls 
of  sandstone  now  and  then  approach  each  other  so  close 
that  in  some  places  it  might  be  closed  by  a  gate.  To 
ride  for  half  an  hour  through  such  sublime  scenery  is  im¬ 
pressive,  but  to  keep  it  up  for  some  six  or  seven  hours,  as 
we  did  that  day,  is  to  carry  for  ever  some  indelible  im¬ 
pressions  of  indescribable  grandeur.  On  the  whole,  the 

286 


From  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber  287 

mountains  and  valleys  descending  to  the  east  from  the 
great  Sinai  mass  are  much  more  sublimely  grand  and  im¬ 
pressive  than  those  which  we  ascended  from  the  west  or 
Suez  side. 

Wady  Ghazaleh  opened  finally  into  Wady  el  Ain,  or 
Wetir,  which  is  the  great  drain  or  trunk  valley  into  which 
a  perfect  tangle  of  valleys  empty  themselves  from  the 
mountainous  region  lying  between  two  parallel  ridges  of 
the  southern  range  of  the  Tih.  The  upper  parts  of  the 
great  valley  system  are  said  to  resemble  Feiran  in  its  brook 
and  luxuriant  vegetation.  A  road  leads  through  this 
valley  across  the  southern  border  of  the  Tih  to  the  monas¬ 
tery  of  Sinai.  Another  branch  of  the  same  joins  the 
Suez-Akaba  pilgrim  route  for  a  distance  and  then  across 
the  desert  by  the  same  trail,  as  already  referred  to  as  turn¬ 
ing  up  from  Hazeroth.  Still  another  road,  up  the  Wady  el 
Ain,  swings  northeast  to  a  point  called  Mafrak,  or  “the 
cross  roads,”  where  the  Hajj  route  and  two  other  desert 
trails  come  together  on  the  boundary  line  between  Turkey 
and  Egypt.  This  Wady  el  Ain  district,  with  its  network 
of  valleys,  will  yet  yield  some  interesting  facts  concerning 
the  Exodus,  because  it  is  a  great  natural  highway  leading 
down  from  the  Desert  of  the  Wandering  to  the  seacoast 
in  the  direction  and  vicinity  of  Ezion  Geber. 

The  amphitheater  formed  by  the  junction  of  Wady 
Ghazaleh  and  Wady  el  Ain  and  another  valley,  called 
Nahhailah,  was  a  much  more  magnificent  and  impressive 
spot  than  we  had  any  expectation  of  seeing.  Books  of 
travel  seem  more  than  usually  confused  about  this  vicinity, 
and  the  names  on  all  maps  still  need  extensive  revision. 
Wady  el  Ain  and  Wady  Wetir  seem  to  be  the  same,  and 
Robinson’s  Wady  es  Saideh  seems  to  be  still  a  third  name. 
We  camped  on  a  raised  gravel  bed;  eastward  and  across 
from  our  left  were  a  large  number  of  palm  and  seyyal 
trees.  Two  or  three  families  of  poor  Arabs  were  living 
among  the  trees,  and  the  sole  item  of  information  I  could 


288 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


extract  from  them  was  that  the  fountain  at  this  point  was 
called  Furtaga,  a  name  which  I  have  not  seen  recorded 
anywhere.  Some  ten  minutes  below  our  camp  were  three 
or  four  holes  in  a  bed  of  gravel  where  there  was  really  an 
abundance  of  what  might  be  excellent  water  were  it  not 
for  the  Arabs,  who  run  their  camels  into  it  and  deposit  all 
manner  of  filth  about  it.  We  filled  our  two  barrels  early 
in  the  morning  and  took  in  a  minimum  of  uncleanness. 
This  supply  was  to  last  us  through  three  dry  camps  until 
we  reached  Akaba. 

We  left  the  fountain  at  8  A.  m.  and  made  our  way  down 
the  winding  valley,  fully  as  grand  and  sublime  as  the  Wady 
Ghazaleh  above.  At  one  point  the  whole  valley  was  con¬ 
tracted  between  enormous  masses  of  rock  to  the  width  of 
only  io  or  12  feet.  At  several  points  the  valley  doubled 
on  itself  and  explained  for  us  the  meaning  of  some  appar¬ 
ently  well-trodden  paths  which  led  up  steep  slopes  to  ap¬ 
parently  nowhere.  They  were  simply  short  cuts  by  which 
those  on  foot  could  save  a  mile  or  two  in  their  progress 
toward  the  sea. 

At  one  point  our  attention  was  caught  and  fixed  (for  any 
sign  of  human  or  vegetable  life  on  these  dreary  slopes 
seemed  miraculous)  by  the  sight  of  a  man  running  up  a 
short  cut,  disappearing  and  then  reappearing  beyond  in  an 
apparently  desperate  attempt  to  get  ahead  of  us.  Our 
first  thought  was,  of  course,  “robbers,”  and  we  kept  a 
sharp  lookout  during  the  next  few  hours.  The  explanation 
will  be  found  a  page  or  two  farther  on. 

At  a  hundred  points  in  this  winding  valley  we  expected 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  sea,  for  our  barometers  were  rapidly 
sinking  and  the  scent  of  the  salt  water  came  now  and  then 
in  whiffs  to  our  doubly  sensitive  nostrils.  It  was  almost 
three  hours  before  we  saw  through  the  wider  opening  the 
gleam  of  the  water,  and  exactly  four  hours  to  the  seashore. 
We  had  climbed  from  Suez  to  Sinai  (5100  feet)  and  the 
top  of  Jebel  Musa  (7363  feet),  and  in  three  and  a  half  days 


From  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber 


289 


we  had  come  down  the  5100  feet  without  an  accident  to 
our  slow  plodding  camels.  (See  plate  facing  p.  24.)  Our 
barometers,  eased  of  their  tension,  settled  quickly  to  the 
cipher  and  took  a  good  rest  along  the  seashore  before  we 
began  to  climb  into  Edom  beyond  Akaba. 

We  were  beyond  the  range  of  guide-books  and  nothing 
had  prepared  our  eyes  or  minds  for  the  sight  that  next 
greeted  us  along  the  beautiful  shore  of  the  gulf.  Not 
more  than  two  miles  to  our  left  and  northward  we  saw 
another  oasis  of  palm  trees  sitting  almost  in  the  sea,  and 
just  behind  it  a  large  square  fortress-like  building  over 
which  floated  what  we  knew  later  to  be  the  Egyptian  flag. 
We  had  heard  and  seen  the  name  Nuweibeh,  but  it  was 
only  a  name  and  nothing  more.  As  we  approached  our 
curiosity  increased,  until  we  finally  dismounted  among  the 
palm  trees  before  the  door  of  the  fort  and  were  welcomed 
by  the  garrison  and  some  Arabs  from  the  neighborhood. 
We  soon  learned  the  story. 

When  England  entered  Egypt  after  the  bombardment  of 
Alexandria  on  July  n,  1882,  she  found  that  one  of  her 
duties  was  to  see  the  Egyptian  caravan  to  Mecca  safely 
across  the  peninsula  from  Suez  to  Akaba.  In  the  then 
unsettled  state  of  the  Arab  tribes,  she  sent  Egyptian  sol¬ 
diers  to  Pharaoh’s  island,  Akaba,  and  beyond  in  fulfillment 
of  her  duty.  When  the  new  khedive,  Abbas  Pasha,  suc¬ 
ceeded  his  father  Tewfik  in  1892  as  ruler  of  Egypt,  his 
boundary  was  named  as  extending  from  Wady  Arish, 
“the  river  of  Egypt,”  across  the  peninsula  to  Akaba,  thus 
bringing  all  Sinai  under  Anglo-Egyptian  control.  The 
Sultan  of  Turkey  at  once  made  imperial  protest  and  claimed 
as  Turkish  territory  all  the  country  up  to  the  banks  of  the 
Suez  Canal.  The  British  Government,  without  discussing 
the  matter  in  public,  ignored  the  protest,  and  in  1893 
(1310  A.  H.)  erected  this  fort,  which  is  about  200  feet 
square,  with  ramparts  and  loopholes,  and  has  kept  the 
Egyptian  flag  flying  there  ever  since.  Prior  to  the  most 

19 


290 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


recent  boundary  dispute  of  1905,  as  many  as  300  soldiers 
were  permanently  quartered  here.  Since,  however,  the  dis¬ 
pute  was  forcibly  settled  by  Great  Britain  by  the  erection 
of  new  boundary  pillars,  the  fort  has  been  practically  aban¬ 
doned,  and  at  the  time  of  our  visit  the  garrison  consisted  of 
exactly  three  men,  one  cannon  and  the  daily  hoisting  of  the 
flag.  But  behind  the  men,  the  rusty  cannon  and  the  flag 
float  the  fleets  of  the  greatest  power  in  the  world  and  no 
man  dares  molest  them. 

When  we  entered  the  peninsula  at  Suez,  and  were  given 
one  permit  to  travel  in  Sinai  for  scientific  research  and  an¬ 
other  for  our  firearms,  we  noted  the  fact  that  both  were 
signed  by  J.  Falconer  Bey,  the  War  Department  represent¬ 
ative.  As  we  journeyed  from  point  to  point,  meeting  the 
camel  patrols,  we  realized  clearly  that  all  Sinai  was  under 
military  and  not  civil  control.  Nuweibeh  was  another 
clear  indication  of  the  situation.  At  this  present  moment 
(1911),  with  an  ex-Shah  and  revolution  loose  in  Persia, 
with  battalion  after  battalion  of  Turkish  troops  being 
annihilated  in  Arabia,  it  would  seem  good  policy  to  rebuild 
some  of  the  ancient  forts  and  fortresses.  The  Turkish 
Government  will  never  subdue  the  Arabs  by  brute  force. 
The  ancient  Egyptians  sent  many  an  unsuccessful  expedi¬ 
tion  against  these  “sand-dwellers,”1  and  finally  solved 
their  problem  by  building  a  great  wall  and  line  of  fortresses 
from  Pelusium  to  Suez.2  The  Romans  had  the  same 
difficulties  with  the  nomad  Arabs,  and  they  solved  the 
problem  by  building  a  great  wall  along  the  tops  of  the 
mountains  of  Moab  from  near  Madeba  to  Akaba.  It  will 
some  day  become  the  duty  of  Great  Britain  to  restore 
order  among  the  Arab  tribes  of  Arabia  by  the  firmness  and 
justice  that  has  restored  peace  and  prosperity  in  the 
Soudan,  and  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai  may  once  again  loom 
large  in  the  world’s  great  drama.  But  this  is  politics. 

1  “  E.  and  W.  A.,”  p.  135. 

2  “  T.  K.  B.”  p.  44. 


From  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber 


291 


Inside  the  fort  is  a  well  of  excellent  though  slightly 
brackish  water,  and  the  soldiers  were  very  kind  in  helping 
us  refill  all  our  smaller  water  vessels.  Then  followed  a  bit 
of  Oriental  desert  intercourse  in  which  we  joined  with 
pleasure.  One  of  the  soldiers  was  from  Akaba,  and  as  they 
receive  their  pay  and  mail  from  Nakhl  only  once  every  two 
months,  they  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  some  one  to  do 
errands.  So  we  promised  that  our  Sinai  cameleers,  -who 
would  be  returning  this  same  way  a  week  or  so  later,  should 
see  his  family  and  bring  back  for  him  two  rotls  (10  pounds) 
of  flour  and  1  rotl  of  tobacco.  We  suppose  he  bakes  his 
flour  over  a  tobacco  fire.  On  the  principle  that  one  good 
turn  deserves  another,  the  soldiers  then  made  another 
request.  By  some  means  they  had  come  into  possession  of 
a  rather  dilapidated  and  lame  specimen  of  a  camel.  This 
animal  they  wished  to  send  to  Akaba — a  three  days’ 
journey  as  we  were  travelling.  The  proposition  was  to 
allow  the  animal  to  accompany  our  caravan,  picking  up  its 
scanty  living  as  best  it  could.  We  agreed  and  the  lame 
beast  was  taken  under  our  convoy.  The  soldiers  drove  it 
with  us  for  a  mile  or  so,  and  parted  with  great  shouts  and 
throwing  of  stones  to  keep  the  poor  camel’s  head  in  the 
right  direction.  It  did  not  take  us  long  to  realize  that  the 
invalid  would  prove  a  drag  and  a  great  nuisance.  So  we 
held  a  consultation.  The  Arabs  argued  rightly  that  if  the 
camel  wandered  or  died  by  the  way  they  might  lose  a 
good  camel  to  the  soldiers  on  their  return.  So  we  decided 
to  despatch  one  of  them  back  at  once  with  the  lame  animal 
and  thus  avoid  all  further  trouble. 

About  an  hour  beyond  the  fort  the  story  of  the  man 
running  over  the  mountain  short-cuts  in  early  morning  had 
its  explanatory  sequel.  He  saw  the  travellers,  knew  that 
most  people  like  fish,  and  was  running  to  join  his  fellow 
fishermen  at  Nuweibeh.  Having  taken  their  nets  and  bas¬ 
kets  they  went  northward  along  the  sea,  and  by  the  time 
we  overtook  them  they  had  caught  enough  to  give  us  two 


292 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


good  meals.  They  followed  us  for  fully  another  twenty 
miles  and  continued  to  supply  us  for  another  day.  We  were 
glad  of  the  change  and  they  were  abundantly  satisfied  with 
the  prices  we  paid. 

During  the  next  two  days  along  the  seashore  we  noted 
that  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  was  much  narrower  than  the  west¬ 
ern  arm  of  the  Red  Sea,  although  it  resembled  it  in  its  long 
blue  line  of  water  extending  up  through  a  region  almost 
totally  desolate.  The  mountains,  too,  are  much  higher  on 
this  eastern  side  of  Sinai,  and  much  more  picturesque  than 
those  which  skirt  the  Gulf  of  Suez.  The  valleys,  as  a  rule, 
are  not  so  broad,  which  makes  the  scenery  grander,  even 
though  much  more  gloomy.  The  most  striking  difference, 
however,  is  the  fact  that  there  is  not  the  same  extent  of 
wide  desert  plains  along  the  seashore,  and  during  the  three 
days’  journey  from  the  mouth  of  Wady  el  Ain  I  was  more 
than  ever  impressed  with  the  possibility  of  the  Children 
of  Israel  in  their  journey  from  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber 
having  ascended  some  one  of  the  valleys,  say,  from  Haze¬ 
roth  itself  or  up  Wady  el  Ain,  to  the  southeastern  corner  of 
the  desert  et  Tih  and  across  that  desert  to  Ezion  Geber, 
instead  of  skirting  the  coast  on  the  seashore. 

Palmer  in  his  wanderings  picked  up  several  names  which 
correspond  with  names  found  in  the  Itinerary  between 
Hazeroth  and  Ezion  Geber  (Numbers  33:  16-35);  Rissah, 
Haradah,  Tahath  and  Hasmonah  have  their  modern 
Arabic  equivalents,  and  this,  together  with  the  fact  of 
existing  springs  and  wells  along  this  inner  route,  makes  it 
much  more  probable  than  the  waterless  and  more  difficult 
path  over  the  promontories  and  moraines  along  the  coast. 
Two  modern  travellers,  Ruppell  and  Labord,  took  this 
inner  route  from  Wady  el  Ain  to  Ezion  Geber,  and  their 
careful  description  of  it  assures  us  of  its  feasibility. 

Our  route  lay  along  the  edge  of  the  sea.  The  first  day 
carried  us  beyond  Nuweibeh,  to  within  three  miles  of  a 
famous  white  cape  or  promontory.  This  cape,  formed  by 


From  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber 


293 


a  range  of  the  Tih  mountains,  called  Jebel  Aswal,  forces 
itself  out  to  the  water’s  edge.  The  headland  is  named  Ras 
el  Burka  or  “veil”  cape,  so  called  from  its  exceeding  white 
appearance  when  seen  from  a  distance.  The  gulf  at  this 
point  is  a  little  over  ten  miles  wide,  and  beyond  the  cape 
our  route  lay  across  a  number  of  mud  and  stone  glaciers 
which  reach  into  the  sea,  whose  waves  are  continually 
eating  off  great  masses  of  debris,  somewhat  as  icebergs  drop 
from  the  ends  of  melting  glaciers.  At  several  places  there 
are  great  geological  bays  filled  with  many  colored  Petra 
sandstones.  At  other  points  the  granite  ranges  almost 
reach  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  suggest  a  query  as  to 
whether  all  these  colored  sandstones  on  both  sides  of  the 
Gulf  of  Akaba  were  not  the  result  of  nature’s  geological 
grinding  of  the  many  colored  granite  cliffs  of  Sinai  and  the 
action  of  the  sea  which  washed  this  powdered  granite 
back  into  the  empty  cavities  of  the  Jordan  Valley. 

By  far  the  most  striking  feature  of  this  stretch  of  sea¬ 
shore  is  the  abundance  of  shells  of  all  shapes  and  colors 
and  varieties,  some  as  small  as  a  pea  and  millions  almost 
as  large  as  a  man’s  head.  Here  and  there  were  stretches 
of  beach  formed  of  shells  alone  in  every  stage  of  the  crush¬ 
ing  process,  which  the  waves  continue  for  ever.  This  fact 
of  the  abundance  of  shells  cast  up  by  the  waters  of  the  Red 
Sea  fitted  strangely  into  a  brilliant  remark  of  Professor 
George  Adam  Smith’s,  and  explained  with  a  flash  the 
reason  of  one  of  the  most  important  modern  industries  of 
southern  Palestine.  His  remark  was  to  the  effect  that 
Israel  as  a  kingdom  had  little  to  do  with  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea  because  the  face  of  the  kingdom 
was  toward  the  desert,  and  this  remark,  coupled  with  the 
abundance  of  shells,  explained  what  must  have  puzzled 
many  another  observer,  as  to  how  the  modern  industry  of 
shell  carving  and  its  kindred  products  from  the  mother- 
of-pearl  ever  came  into  existence  and  made  its  home  in 
the  little  town  of  Bethlehem.  The  seacoasts  best  known 


294 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


and  for  many  reasons  most  accessible  to  the  Children  of 
Israel  were  the  shell-strewn  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba, 
where  Solomon  had  his  navies  and  where  existed  the  sin¬ 
gle  seaport,  Ezion  Geber,  of  the  Hebrew  nation. 

For  the  sake  of  those  who  may  follow  our  footsteps  along 
this  seashore  I  add  this  note  concerning  the  time  consumed 
as  camels  move.  We  left  our  camp  below  the  white  cape 
at  7  a.  m.  At  9.30  we  were  immediately  opposite  the  high¬ 
est  of  the  two  peaks  of  Jebel  Aswal,  at  10  o’clock  we  were 
in  the  middle  of  the  white  cape.  Our  guides  and  cameleers 
seemed  to  be  confused  somewhat  in  regard  to  the  names 
of  the  various  valleys  which  poured  their  moraines  of  gravel 
and  rocks  into  the  sea.  The  name  Wady  el  Muhash  be¬ 
longs  to  some  valley  about  this  headland.  At  n  o’clock 
we  were  in  the  plain  of  Buswerah,  which  contains  a  well  of 
salty  water  with  five  or  six  palm  trees,  one  of  which  is  a 
five-branched  tree  of  the  dome  variety.  At  1 2.30  we  passed 
the  mouth  of  Wady  Abu  Magr  with  its  great  moraine  and 
at  2.40  p.  m.  our  cameleers  again  assured  us  that  the  valley 
on  the  left  was  Wady  el  Muhash.  At  4  p.  m.  we  passed 
another  smaller  valley  called  el  Mujebbaly  and  turned  into 
a  charming  little  cove  where  we  spent  the  Sunday.  We 
named  this  our  Coral  Cove  camp.  It  was  absolutely 
waterless,  as  was  also  the  preceding  camp  below  the  white 
cape.  While  we  rested  over  Sunday  our  cameleers  drove 
all  the  camels  back  to  the  salt  well  in  the  plain  of  Buswerah, 
allowing  them  to  graze  on  the  scanty  herbage  as  they  went 
and  returned. 

This  Sunday  camp  of  Coral  Cove  was  as  quiet  and  as 
restful  as  any  human  being  could  desire.  With  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  the  abundant  schools  of  fish,  which  we  watched  from 
the  rocks  of  the  promontory,  there  was  no  other  sign  of 
life  to  be  seen  in  any  direction.  We  cheered  the  spirits 
of  our  cameleers  by  an  extra  distribution  of  coffee  and 
tobacco.  By  hunting  through  our  outfit  we  also  discovered 
a  good  supply  of  red  clay  pipe  bowls  and  little  hand  mirrors 


From  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber 


295 


about  2\  inches  in  diameter.  We  gave  one  of  each,  a 
pipe  and  a  mirror,  to  every  Bedawy  in  our  camp,  and  to 
see  these  men  looking,  some  of  them  for  the  first  time  in 
their  lives,  at  their  own  shaggy  beards  and  furrowed  faces 
was  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten.  Some  of  them  were  so 
surprised  at  what  they  saw  in  the  little  mirrors  that  their 
impulse  was,  after  concealing  the  glass  in  their  floating 
garments,  to  rush  some  twenty  or  thirty  yards  away  from 
the  camp  before  taking  a  second  look,  as  though  by  so  doing 
they  could  conceal  from  all  human  eyes  what  they  them¬ 
selves  had  never  seen  before.  The  result  was,  that  in  spite 
of  the  dryness  of  the  camp  and  the  scantiness  of  their  food, 
they  were  about  as  happy  a  lot  of  cameleers  as  ever  pitched 
along  the  seashore. 

Beyond  our  Coral  Cove  camp  rose  a  series  of  rocky  prom¬ 
ontories  all  of  granite,  where  even  the  seashore  path  is  com¬ 
pelled  to  climb  into  back  valleys  before  one  can  get  be¬ 
yond  this  great  obstruction  along  the  seashore.  This  is 
the  Jebel  Sherafeh  mentioned  by  Burckhardt. 

Again  we  left  camp  at  7  A.  M.,  and  not  till  two  hours 
later  did  we  again  reach  the  open  shore.  At  10  o’clock  we 
were  opposite  Pharaoh’s  Island,  which  figured  largely  in 
the  recent  boundary  dispute  between  Turkey  and  Egypt. 
After  having  destroyed  the  boundary  pillars  on  the  Medi¬ 
terranean  coast  at  Wady  el  Arish,  Turkish  troops  were  sent 
westward  from  Akaba  to  a  point  on  this  seashore  opposite 
Pharaoh’s  Island,  where  they  dug  rifle-pits  preparatory 
to  holding  the  position  against  any  who  should  dispute 
their  rights  of  possession. 

This  rocky  island  (Fig.  63)  stands  in  the  sea  one-third  of 
a  mile  from  the  shore.  It  is  a  narrow  granite  rock  some  300 
yards  in  length,  consisting  of  two  humps  or  hillocks  con¬ 
nected  by  a  low  isthmus.  The  battlemented  ruins  run¬ 
ning  round  the  whole  are  the  remains  of  an  Arabian 
fortress  and,  without  doubt,  the  former  citadel  of  Ailah, 
which  is  mentioned  by  the  Arabian  writer  Abulfeda  as 


296 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


lying  in  the  sea.  It  was  besieged  by  Rainald  of  Chatillon 
in  A.  D.  1182  and  was  not  reoccupied  until  after  1882, 
when  the  Egyptian  Government  kept  some  soldiers  here  in 
connection  with  the  guarding  of  the  Mecca  caravan. 

The  waters  about  this  island  constituted  one  of  the 
ancient  pearl  fisheries  of  the  Gulf,  and  the  rude  boats  some¬ 
times  seen  at  this  point  are  engaged  in  gathering  shells  and 
the  skins  of  the  dugong,  which  porpoise  or  dolphin  is  abun¬ 
dant  at  the  upper  end  of  this  sea.  They  do  a  little  diving 
for  pearls  and  easily  descend  to  a  depth  of  ten  feet.  They 
make  use  of  a  rude  sea  telescope  while  searching  the 
bottom  in  the  vicinity  of  the  coral  reefs.  Not  many  years 
ago  the  fishermen  of  this  vicinity  were  all  known  to  be 
pirates  when  occasion  offered,  but  since  the  Anglo-Egyptian 
Government  has  extended  its  sway  over  Sinai  these  former 
pirates  find  it  safer  to  indulge  in  the  trade  of  contraband 
arms. 

An  hour  beyond  the  island  we  reached  the  well-known 
well  of  Wady  Taba.  It  is  shaped  like  a  funnel  about  ten 
feet  deep,  and  up  and  down  its  rude  stone  walls  our  cam¬ 
eleers  climbed  with  their  rude  water-skins  in  the  attempt 
to  water  our  camels,  but,  like  many  another  desert  well, 
that  day’s  supply  of  water  had  already  been  used  up  by 
the  visit  of  some  other  flocks  of  camels,  and  naught  re¬ 
mained  but  a  thin  solution  of  mud  in  the  bottom  of  the 
well.  This  Wady  Taba  has  for  many  years  been  regarded 
as  the  eastern  boundary  between  Turkey  and  Egypt,  which, 
cutting  across  the  peninsula  toward  the  northwest,  to¬ 
gether  with  the  Wady  el  Arish,  formed  a  tolerably  definite 
dividing  line,  but,  after  the  boundary  dispute  already  re¬ 
ferred  to,  Great  Britain  insisted  upon  a  Turco-Egyptian 
Commission,  which  worked  across  the  same  stretch  of 
country  in  a  more  scientific  way  and  located  a  series  of 
nearly  100  steel  and  stone  pillars  on  the  water-shed  just 
about  the  wadies  Arish  and  Taba.  And  there,  about  two 
miles  beyond  the  wady,  high  on  a  rock  100  feet  above  the 


The  Oasis,  Town  and  Gulf  of  Akaba 


From  Hazeroth  to  Ezion  Geber 


297 


sea  and  close  to  the  waters  of  the  gulf,  we  saw  the  first  of 
those  boundary  pillars,  still  fresh  from  the  hands  of  the 
workmen.  Its  lofty  location  makes  it  distinctly  visible 
from  every  direction  on  land  and  sea,  and  it  was  to  us  a 
very  speaking  testimony  to  the  existence  of  the  Power,  all 
unseen,  which  watches  over  the  granite  peaks  and  arid 
deserts  of  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai.  Somewhere  within  a  few 
miles  of  this  desolate  spot  stood  at  least  two  ancient  cities, 
those  of  Elath  and  Ezion  Geber.  The  weight  of  suppo¬ 
sition  and  tradition  locates  Elath  somewhere  about  Wady 
Taba,  and  this,  in  turn,  would  bring  the  route  of  the  Chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel  down  Wady  Taba  on  their  way  from  Hazeroth 
to  Ezion  Geber.  Ezion  Geber  in  that  case  would  be  one  of 
the  enormous  ruins  beyond  the  new  boundary  pillar,  some¬ 
where  about  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba,  where  the 
present  pilgrimage  route  approaches  the  seashore,  and  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that  future  expeditions  may  some  day 
discover,  beyond  a  peradventure,  the  exact  locations  of 
these  ancient  cities. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


HOW  WE  ENTERED  TURKEY 

When  we  crossed  the  Turkish  boundary  at  Akaba  I 
said  to  my  companions  that  we  had  now  left  the  territory 
where  law  and  order  reign  and  had  entered  the  Turkish 
dominions;  while  I  did  not  know  of  any  particular  difficulty 
that  we  might  encounter,  I  was  perfectly  sure  we  should 
meet  with  some  new  and  unexpected  adventure.  We  moved 
slowly  along  the  sands  of  the  quiet  gulf  just  opposite 
Pharaoh’s  Island.  We  saw  the  rifle-pits  which  had  been 
made  by  the  Turkish  soldiers  two  years  before,  when  the 
British  gave  an  ultimatum  to  Turkey  and  forced  her  to 
withdraw  her  soldiers  from  what  was  claimed  to  be 
Egyptian  territory.  As  we  swung  round  the  head  of  the 
gulf  we  were  greatly  impressed  with  the  beauty  of  the  scene 
before  us.  The  blue  waters  were  as  still  as  an  inland  lake, 
the  sandy  shore  swung  in  a  beautiful  circle  (Panorama  64) 
toward  the  east,  where  the  groves  of  palm  trees  lined  the 
shore,  and  through  these  palm  trees  appeared  the  massive 
walls  of  an  ancient  fortress  and  the  poor  mud-built  houses 
of  the  wretched  town  of  Akaba.  Above  the  palm  trees 
were  seen  the  white  tents  of  the  military  camp  and  far 
beyond  rose  the  misty  and  mysterious  mountains  of  Arabia, 
through  which  the  Mecca  caravans  wend  their  way  and  into 
which  the  Christian  traveller  ventures  only  at  the  cost  of 
his  life.  When  we  reached  the  point  where  the  road  from 
Egypt  joins  the  caravan  track  which  comes  direct  from 
Suez  across  the  peninsula  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba,  we  noticed 
some  commotion  among  the  soldiers  in  the  guard-house, 
and  a  moment  later  we  witnessed  a  strange  sight  of  a 

298 


How  We  Entered  Turkey 


299 


race.  A  soldier  had  started  on  foot  at  the  top  of  his 
speed  along  the  sandy  shore  leading  to  the  town.  He  was 
followed  by  another  soldier  riding  a  mule  without  a  saddle. 
For  a  distance  of  nearly  a  thousand  yards  the  footman  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  keeping  ahead,  but  when  overtaken  by  the  soldier 
on  the  mule  he  gave  up  the  race. 

When  we  came  up  with  the  soldier  on  foot,  we  found  out 
that  they  were  making  all  speed  to  inform  the  commander 
of  the  military  camp  that  the  long-expected  travellers  had 
come.  When  we  reached  the  edge  of  the  grove  of  palm 
trees  we  were  met  by  the  military  commander  and  several 
sheikhs  of  the  village,  who  led  us  among  the  gardens  and 
houses  to  what  they  supposed  was  a  good  camping-place 
by  the  sea  below  the  old  castle.  We  found  the  place,  how¬ 
ever,  so  filthy  from  the  rubbish  and  dust  of  the  town  that 
we  quickly  made  up  our  minds  that  we  would  not  pitch  our 
tents  there.  After  enquiries  were  made,  we  took  our  way 
through  the  filthier  streets,  to  a  point  above  the  town  and 
just  opposite  the  military  camp,  where,  on  a  stony  slope, 
we  were  glad  to  pitch  our  tents  for  the  night. 

While  making  our  way  from  the  edge  of  the  gulf  we  had 
the  next  pleasant  surprise  of  our  journey.  One  of  our 
trusty  muleteers  from  Beirut  came  riding  with  a  package  of 
mail  in  his  hands,  and  informed  us  that  he  and  the  rest  of 
the  caravan  had  reached  Akaba  just  fifteen  minutes  before 
we  arrived  from  Egypt.  They  were  fully  as  glad  to  see  us 
as  we  were  to  see  them,  and  almost  before  our  cameleers 
arrived  with  the  camels  our  Beirut  caravan  made  its  way 
to  the  camping-place  and  threw  down  their  precious  loads 
of  flour,  candles,  potatoes  and  groceries  from  Beirut; 
boxes  containing  more  than  600  oranges  from  Jaffa  and 
several  hundred  pounds  of  charcoal  from  Gaza.  After 
we  left  Cairo  this  caravan  had  started  from  Beirut  and  made 
its  way  down  the  coast  through  Tyre  and  Sidon  and  Acca 
and  Jaffa,  then  from  Jaffa  they  journeyed  to  Gaza,  and  from 
Gaza  to  a  new  government  center  at  Beersheba.  Here, 


3°° 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


through  the  kindly  assistance  of  Dr.  Brigstocke  of  Gaza, 
we  had  provided  our  caravan  of  8  mules,  6  horses,  2  don¬ 
keys  and  6  muleteers,  with  a  guard  of  two  splendid  speci¬ 
mens  of  Bedawin  soldiery.  They  were  mounted  on  fast 
camels  and  carried  everything  necessary  for  the  long  and 
difficult  desert  journey.  After  leaving  Beersheba  these 
Arab  guides  led  this  caravan  safely  through  the  almost 
waterless  desert  country  to  Akaba,  arriving,  as  I  have 
already  said,  just  fifteen  minutes  before  our  caravan  arrived 
from  Egypt.  This  was  a  fine  result  of  careful  planning. 
To  send  muleteers  and  riding  horses  into  the  desert  and  so 
far  was  something  of  an  experiment,  but  we  had  decided 
to  make  the  attempt  for  a  number  of  good  reasons.  In  all 
the  journeys  of  travellers  through  the  desert  of  Sinai  into 
the  country  about  the  Gulf  of  Akaba,  the  greatest  difficulty 
has  been  when  the  Sinai  Arabs  reach  the  boundaries  of  the 
next  Arab  tribe,  with  whom  they  were  nearly  always  at 
war  or  in  blood  feud.  It  was  their  custom  to  drop  their 
loads  along  the  shore  of  the  sea  and  leave  the  unhappy 
travellers  to  make  fresh  bargains  with  the  next  tribe,  who 
soon  assembled  about  them  like  a  swarm  of  locusts.  This 
was  always  the  point  where  the  travellers  were  bound  to  sub¬ 
mit  to  the  blackmailing  practices  of  the  sheikhs  of  Akaba. 
Because  the  British  Government  keeps  order  in  the  penin¬ 
sula  up  to  the  new  boundary  line,  and  because  the  Sinaitic 
Arabs  are  known  to  be  in  the  protection  of  the  Egyptian 
Government,  they  do  now  venture  another  stage  into  the 
town  of  Akaba,  so  that  we  had  no  difficulty  in  persuading 
them  to  carry  our  loads  over  this  last  stage,  since  we  prom¬ 
ised  to  see  them  safely  back  over  their  boundaries  again. 
Then,  having  provided  our  own  caravan  of  riding  horses, 
mules  and  muleteers  from  Beirut,  we  were  no  longer  at  the 
mercy  of  the  scoundrel  sheikhs  of  Akaba.  When  they 
heard  of  our  party  arriving  from  Egypt  they,  of  course, 
expected  to  work  all  their  old-fashioned  tricks  of  the  trade, 
but  when  they  saw  this  well-set-up  and  well-provisioned 


How  We  Entered  Turkey 


301 


caravan  from  Beirut  arrive  at  this  opportune  moment 
they  realized  sadly  that  their  hope  of  blackmailing  us  was 
in  vain. 

By  the  time  we  had  pitched  our  tents  and  spread  out  the 
loads  from  Egypt  and  from  Beirut  a  good-sized  crowd  had 
gathered  to  see  what  was  to  be  seen.  The  military  com¬ 
mander  returned,  bringing  a  telegram  from  our  friend, 
Consul-General  Ravndal,  in  Beirut,  telling  us  that  much  as 
he  had  desired  to  join  us,  he  had  not  been  able  to  do  so. 
Then  began  to  unfold  a  story  which  has  in  it  elements  of 
comedy  and  tragedy.  Just  above  the  military  camp,  with 
its  rows  of  tents  and  paraphernalia  for  journeys  in  the  desert 
round  about,  was  a  little  group  of  soldiers  in  a  different 
dress,  and  tethered  beside  their  tentless  resting-place  were 
ten  good  strong  mules  with  saddles.  Before  leaving  Beirut 
I  had  requested  our  Consul-General,  Mr.  Ravndal,  to  ask 
the  Governor- General  Nazim  Pasha  in  Damascus  to  send 
orders  to  the  military  commander  in  Kerak  requesting  an 
escort  of  soldiers  to  meet  us  at  Akaba,  naming  the  probable 
date  of  our  arrival  there.  But  somewhere  among  the  va¬ 
rious  departments  of  the  Governor’s  staff,  the  date  of  our 
arrival  was  lost,  and  at  least  three  urgent  telegrams  reached 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  at  Kerak,  who  at  once  despatched 
a  guard  of  ten  mounted  soldiers.  Leaving  Kerak  after 
midnight,  they  rode  day  and  night  over  mountains  and 
waterless  desert  to  meet  us  at  Akaba.  Telegrams  also 
reached  the  military  governor  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  us 
and  render  us  every  courtesy  and  see  us  safely  back  to 
Ma’an  and  Petra.  All  this  preparation  and  telegraphing 
took  place  before  I  had  left  Beirut  and  before  Dr  Goucher 
and  Mr.  Taylor  had  left  Brindisi.  Then  for  forty-six  days 
these  poor  soldiers  sat  and  waited  and  watched  for  the 
coming  of  our  caravan  from  Egypt.  They  were  all  Mos¬ 
lems  and  had  come  with  only  hasty  preparation  which  they 
thought  necessary  for  a  forced  ride  down  to  Akaba  and  a 
leisurely  ride  back  with  the  privileges  of  life  in  our  camp. 


3°2 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


During  these  weary  forty-six  days,  as  they  told  me  after¬ 
ward,  they  made  vows  to  all  the  saints  of  the  Mohammedan 
faith  if  only  they  would  hurry  up  and  bring  these  missing 
foreigners.  Most  of  them  had  been  raised  in  sections  of  the 
country  where  vegetables  and  eggs  and  milk  and  lebn  were 
easily  obtainable,  so  that  during  these  forty-six  days  they 
were  sickened  and  nauseated  by  the  salt  fish  and  rich  oil 
in  which  the  people  of  Akaba  cooked  everything  they  ate. 
The  military  commander,  having  received  word  of  the 
coming  of  three  Americans  with  their  caravan,  had  also 
watched  and  waited  in  vain  and,  finally,  became  nervous 
concerning  the  situation,  fearing  that  we  might  have  slipped 
past  Akaba  and  his  camp  and  made  our  way  into  the 
country  alone  by  the  Hedjaz  railway,  where  the  Arabs 
and  the  government  troops  had  been  having  frequent  and 
bloody  collisions.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  our  arrival 
gave  great  joy  to  our  own  caravan,  to  this  special  squad 
of  mounted  soldiers  from  Kerak  and  to  the  military  com¬ 
mander,  who  was  glad  to  have  us  safely  under  his  eye; 
but  the  coming  of  the  double  caravan  brought  only  de¬ 
spair  to  the  minds  of  the  avaricious  sheikhs. 

While  our  camp  was  being  set  up  by  our  cameleers  and 
muleteers  we  went  to  the  house  of  the  military  commander 
and  made  our  formal  call  upon  him.  While  we  were  there 
three  or  four  of  the  sheikhs  of  the  town  came  slowly  into 
the  room.  Knowing  what  was  sure  to  be  in  the  wind,  we 
shortly  after  excused  ourselves  and  invited  the  military 
commander  to  take  tea  with  us  in  our  tents.  He  followed 
us  and  spent  a  pleasant  half-hour  in  conversation,  joined 
by  the  telegraph  operator,  who  soon  showed  his  character 
in  attempting  to  act  as  a  go-between  for  the  sheikhs.  We 
told  the  military  commander  that  it  was  our  purpose,  after 
readjusting  our  loads  and  repacking  our  baggage,  to  leave 
Akaba  the  following  day.  He  at  once  answered  that  we 
could  not  possibly  journey  until  he  had  received  assurance 
that  the  road  was  safe.  We  answered  that  the  Lieutenant- 


How  We  Entered  Turkey 


303 


Governor  of  Kerak,  at  the  direction  of  the  Governor  Nazim 
Pasha  in  Damascus,  had  already  sent  us  ten  mounted 
soldiers,  and  that  if  the  military  commander  thought  that 
this  escort  was  too  small,  he  knew  his  own  business  and 
would,  of  course,  do  what  he  thought  necessary.  His  an¬ 
swers  were  anything  but  satisfactory,  and  before  many 
hours  had  passed  by  we  felt  sure  that  he  was  acting  in 
league  with  the  sheikhs  and  was  desirous  of  giving  them  an 
opportunity  to  employ  their  arts  against  us.  After  his 
call  was  over,  the  telegraph  operator  speedily  made  known 
his  purpose  and  connection  with  the  sheikhs  by  informing 
us  that  we  could  not  journey  until  we  had  made  satis¬ 
factory  arrangements  with  them.  This  led  quickly  to  a 
second  call  on  the  military  commander  and  our  interview 
with  him  soon  became  a  warm  one.  He  pretended  that 
he  must  telegraph  back  and  forth,  and  could  not  allow  us  to 
start  until  he  had  received  orders  from  those  with  whom  he 
was  communicating.  We  told  him  that  whether  he  re¬ 
ceived  orders  or  not  we  intended  to  start  just  as  soon  as  we 
could  make  ourselves  ready.  Then  he  demanded  that  we 
should  give  a  written  paper  saying  that  we  took  all  respon¬ 
sibility  in  the  matter  and  absolved  him  from  all  consequence 
of  any  trouble  that  might  happen  to  us  by  the  way.  We 
refused  point-blank  to  give  any  such  release.  We  insisted 
that  the  Turkish  Government  was  in  possession  of  that 
section  of  the  country,  and  that  we  were  under  no  obliga¬ 
tion  to  make  any  terms  or  conduct  any  negotiations  with 
any  other  than  government  officials.  He  had  received  tele¬ 
grams;  we  carried  with  us  and  showed  to  him  our  Biyurldih, 
which  bore  the  seal  of  the  Governor- General  at  Damascus. 
We  were  fully  identified  by  the  telegram  which  he  had  re¬ 
ceived  from  our  American  Consul-General  in  Beirut. 
The  Governor- General  of  Damascus  had  sent  the  special 
guard  of  mounted  soldiers  to  meet  us,  and  we  absolutely 
and  emphatically  refused  to  submit  to  a  single  piaster  of 
blackmail  at  the  hands  of  the  sheikhs  of  Akaba.  We 


3°4 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


fully  accepted  all  responsibility  for  our  action  in  the  cir¬ 
cumstances,  and  if  he,  with  the  information  which  we  did 
not  possess,  deemed  a  larger  escort  necessary,  he  must 
either  provide  the  same  or  make  satisfactory  answer  to 
those  who  would  hold  him  responsible,  and  with  that 
declaration  we  left  him  and  the  sheikhs  to  conspire  while 
we  slept  peacefully  in  our  tents. 

In  the  morning  came  the  real  tug-of-war.  The  sheikhs 
had  evidently  spent  several  hours  in  conference  with  each 
other,  employing  the  telegraph  operator  as  their  go-be¬ 
tween  with  the  Kologasi  or  commander.  Our  muleteers 
and  camp  followers  had  received  word  from  various  sources 
that  we  were  not  allowed  to  journey  until  we  had  made 
satisfactory  arrangements  with  the  sheikhs,  but  to  these 
messages  we  paid  no  attention.  It  required  several  hours 
to  rearrange  all  our  loads  properly,  and  while  the  men  of  the 
camp  were  proceeding  with  these  matters  I  reopened  com¬ 
munication  with  the  Kologasi.  He  evidently  was  between 
two  fires,  as  we  well  understood  later,  because  he  was 
threatened  by  the  sheikhs  from  one  side,  who  were  willing 
to  make  some  sort  of  disturbance,  and  troubled  by  our 
active  preparations  on  the  other.  A  number  of  soldiers 
were  sent  up  unarmed,  ostensibly  to  keep  the  crowd  back, 
but  also  to  prevent  the  starting  of  the  muleteers.  I  had 
sent  repeated  messages  to  the  Kologasi,  telling  him  that  we 
were  loaded  up  and  expecting  to  move  just  as  soon  as  we 
could  complete  our  preparation.  About  n  o’clock,  when 
we  were  ready  to  move,  some  of  the  soldiers  actually  seized 
the  halters  of  the  mules  and  prevented  the  muleteers  from 
starting  out.  By  that  time  the  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens 
and  the  heat  pushing  toward  its  maximum.  When  I 
realized  that  they  were  actually  determined  to  keep  our 
mules  from  moving  by  force,  I  made  straight  for  the  tele¬ 
graph  office  and  there  found  the  Kologasi  and  the  sheikhs 
seated  about  the  operator,  who  was  busy  at  the  end  of  the 
wire  which  started  from  there  to  the  government  center  at 


How  We  Entered  Turkey 


3°  5 


Kerak.  I  immediately  announced  my  willingness  to  pay 
the  threefold  rate  on  telegrams  which  according  to  the 
Turkish  law,  gives  one  the  right  to  break  in  upon  any  mes¬ 
sage  that  is  being  sent  and  even  to  take  precedence  of 
government  business,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  write  three 
telegrams,  the  first  to  Nazim  Pasha,  the  Governor  of  Da¬ 
mascus,  informing  him  that  the  local  commander  at  Akaba 
refused  to  respect  his  buyuruldy  which  we  held  in  our  hands, 
and  was  actually  detaining  us  with  our  loads  in  the  hot  sun 
at  Akaba.  The  second  telegram  I  wrote  to  our  American 
Consul-General  at  Beirut,  giving  him  the  same  word,  and 
informing  him  that  we  should  claim  compensation  for  the 
delay  and  anything  that  might  happen  to  our  loads  and 
persons.  The  third  telegram  I  wrote  to  our  Consular 
Agent  at  Damascus  asking  him  to  at  once  communicate 
with  the  Governor- General.  Whilst  I  was  engaged  in 
writing  these  telegrams  the  Kologasi  showed  that  he  under¬ 
stood  the  meaning  of  my  move.  At  the  same  time  I 
gathered  from  his  conversation  with  the  telegraph  operator 
that  he  was  attempting  to  get  into  direct  communication 
with  the  Governor  at  Kerak,  whom  we  afterward  found 
to  be  a  most  enterprising  and  wide-awake  Circassian,  who 
was  entering  jubilantly  into  the  little  comedy  that  was 
being  enacted  at  our  end  of  the  wire.  When  my  telegrams 
were  ready  and  I  made  my  demand  with  gold  in  my  hand, 
the  Kologasi  begged  me  to  be  patient  and  give  him  a  little 
time.  Almost  at  this  instant  came  a  message  over  the 
wire  which,  the  telegraph  operator  having  put  into  writing, 
proved  to  be  a  question  from  the  Governor  at  Kerak  who 
was  interrogating  the  wretched  sheikhs  of  Akaba  concern¬ 
ing  our  difficulty.  The  Governor  asked  why  the  sheikhs 
of  Akaba  were  unwilling  to  guarantee  our  safe  escort  on  the 
three  days’  journey  from  Akaba  to  Ma’an.  Then  the  Kolo¬ 
gasi  paused  and  waited  for  their  answer.  They  said  that 
many  years  before  they  had  made  a  treaty  with  the  Consuls 
in  Cairo,  according  to  which  every  traveller  passing  through 
20 


3°6 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


their  territory  was  to  pay  a  stipulated  sum  for  every  camel 
furnished,  and  a  fee  of  £5  each  for  every  member  of  the 
party.  It  was  ludicrous  to  watch  them  as  they  were 
obliged  to  make  this  confession  openly  after  they  had  been 
beating  round  the  bush  with  hints  during  the  past  eighteen 
hours.  Then  a  second  question  came  over  the  wire  asking 
whether  they  still  persisted  in  their  refusal  to  grant  us  the 
safe  escort  referred  to.  At  this  point  I  interposed  and  de¬ 
manded  as  a  right  that  I  should  be  allowed  to  ask  a  question 
of  the  Governor  of  Kerak,  and  what  I  wished  to  ask  was 
the  simple  question  whether  there  were  two  governments 
in  the  region  of  Akaba  or  one.  But  the  Kologasi  again 
begged  for  a  little  time,  and  while  he  was  making  his  answer 
to  the  Governor,  I  assured  the  sheikhs  that  they  had  put 
their  heads,  every  one  of  them,  into  a  noose  and  all  that 
was  now  required  was  that  we  should  pull  the  rope.  I 
told  them  that  we  knew  the  names  and  history  of  their 
fathers  and  grandfathers  and  of  all  the  tricks  they  had 
played  upon  travellers  during  the  last  hundred  years,  and 
now  that  the  Turkish  Government  had  occupied  their  town 
with  a  garrison,  their  wretched  rule  and  trickery  was  at 
an  end.  We  and  other  travellers  would  come  into  that 
section  of  the  country  in  spite  of  them;  if  they  treated  us 
decently  we  would  deal  with  them  fairly,  and  it  would  be 
to  their  interest  to  drop  their  old  tricks  and  welcome  trav¬ 
ellers  who  would  leave  many  a  piece  of  gold  for  services 
they  could  easily  render,  but  if  they  wished  to  keep  up 
their  old  methods  travellers  would  be  obliged  to  bring  in 
larger  escorts  of  soldiers,  who  would  receive  all  the  gifts 
and  benefits  which  would  otherwise  belong  to  them. 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on,  the  telegraph  oper¬ 
ator  had  taken  another  long  message  on  the  wire  and  had 
handed  it  to  the  Kologasi,  whose  face  relaxed  and  into  his 
eyes  came  a  knowing  sort  of  twinkle.  He  stood  up  and 
announced  that  it  was  the  command  of  the  Governor  at 
Kerak  that  the  sheikhs  should  guarantee  us  a  safe  escort, 


How  We  Entered  Turkey 


307 


and  that  we  were  now  fully  authorized  to  take  our  depart¬ 
ure  with  all  our  caravan.  Then,  seizing  me  by  the  arm,  he 
marched  me  outside  to  some  distance  away,  and  informed 
me  that  he  would  give  me  another  section  of  this  message, 
which  was  to  assure  me  from  the  lips  of  the  Governor  that 
we  were  completely  under  his  protection  and  he  would 
guarantee  our  safe  arrival  against  all  marauders.  A  short 
section  of  the  telegram,  to  which  he  made  mysterious 
allusions,  he  said  he  was  not  privileged  to  make  known  to 
me  at  that  particular  stage.  His  whole  attitude  indicated 
a  very  great  change  in  his  feeling  toward  us,  and  we  were 
greatly  at  a  loss  to  understand  what  it  meant.  By  this 
time  the  sheikhs  made  up  their  mind  that  in  order  to  save 
their  own  face  one  of  them  must,  in  some  way,  be  allowed 
to  accompany  us,  because  it  would  never  do  for  any  party 
of  travellers  to  pass  out  of  the  town  without  being  appar¬ 
ently  under  their  gracious  protection.  When  old  Sheikh 
Ali  announced  that  he  wished  to  accompany  us,  I  assured 
him  with  more  feeling  than  ever  that  his  presence  was  ab¬ 
solutely  unnecessary;  we  thanked  him  for  his  thought,  but 
insisted  upon  his  remaining  quietly  in  his  city  home. 
Guessing  that  we  understood  the  situation,  he  then  pre¬ 
sented  a  humble  plea  to  be  allowed  to  accompany  us,  and 
still  we  were  obdurate,  and  finally  I  told  him  that  if  he  went 
along  he  went  entirely  at  his  own  expense,  must  care  for 
his  own  horse,  provide  his  own  food,  and  expect  absolutely 
nothing  from  us  in  any  way. 

It  is  perhaps  just  as  well  to  complete  this  story  at  this 
point  and  give  the  finale,  although  we  are  anticipating  in 
time.  Old  Sheikh  Ali  followed  us  a  long  distance  out  of  the 
town.  We  put  our  muleteers  well  in  front  of  us,  led  by  the 
ten  mounted  soldiers  who  had  come  to  escort  us  so  many 
days  before.  We  followed  our  caravan  at  a  little  distance, 
accompanied  by  another  seven  soldiers  on  foot.  The  old 
Sheikh  Ali  followed  at  a  very  respectful  distance,  and  in 
this  order  we  moved  slowly  away  from  the  town  toward  the 


308 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


north ,  and  swung  slowly  round  the  desolate  slope,  direct¬ 
ing  our  course  toward  Wady  Yetem. 

Immediately  we  had  left  the  town  the  Kologasi  acted 
upon  the  remaining  section  of  the  telegraphic  orders  of  the 
Governor  at  Kerak,  which  was  to  the  effect  that  he  was  to 
arrest  all  the  sheikhs  of  the  town  and  keep  them  safely  in 
prison  till  we  had  completed  the  three  days’  journey  and 
were  safe  at  Ma’an.  This  enabled  us  to  understand 
the  good  humor  of  the  Kologasi  when  he  bade  us  farewell. 
If,  as  we  suspected,  he  was  originally  in  league  with  the 
sheikhs  for  extracting  some  bakshish  from  us,  he  wTas  also 
disappointed  with  the  sheikhs  when  they  found  that  their 
game  would  not  work.  It  is  true  that  we  did  not  at  any 
moment  have  any  message  or  suggestion  from  him  concern¬ 
ing  bakshish,  but  we  are  perfectly  sure  that  if  the  sheikhs 
had  succeeded  in  their  demands  the  Kologasi  would  not 
have  been  any  poorer. 

However,  we  as  a  party  had  escaped  from  the  snares 
of  all;  the  next  best  fortune  for  the  Kologasi  was  to  get 
the  sheikhs  into  prison,  because  it  was  perfectly  sure 
that  before  they  were  released  he  would  have  larger 
stores  of  semmen  and  wheat  and  other  eatables  in  his 
private  larder.  We  learned  of  the  arrest  of  the  sheikhs 
at  a  point  half-way  to  Ma’an,  where  another  military 
camp  had  been  temporarily  established  in  order  to  pre¬ 
vent  any  sudden  incursion  of  the  Arabs  from  the  south, 
where  they  had  just  massacred  all  the  guard  and  officials 
at  a  railway  station  this  side  of  Medina.  The  officer  of 
this  camp  had  also  cut  the  telegraph  wire  and  established 
a  temporary  station  in  one  of  his  tents.  It  was  here  that 
old  Sheikh  Ali  learned  the  sad  fate  of  his  brother  sheikhs, 
and  early  the  next  morning  there  was  a  mute  appeal  for 
mercy  in  the  shape  of  a  little  lamb  tied  to  one  of  the  tent- 
ropes.  We  fully  understood  the  old  man’s  petition.  We 
accepted  the  lamb  and  made  a  present  of  it  to  the  hungry 
soldiers,  but,  at  the  same  time,  insisted  on  paying  the  old 


How  We  Entered  Turkey  309 

sheikh  double  its  money  value  and  refusing  to  be  placated 
by  such  a  paltry  gift. 

When  we  reached  Kerak  some  two  weeks  later,  we  at 
once  called  on  the  Governor,  and  he  asked  us,  rather 
facetiously,  how  we  had  enjoyed  our  stay  in  Akaba.  We 
made  answer  in  general  terms  until  the  old  gentleman 
clearly  revealed  to  us  that  he  knew  the  whole  story  from 
beginning  to  end,  and  then,  with  great  guffaws  of  laughter, 
he  told  his  side  of  the  negotiations  with  the  wretched  sheikhs 
and  how  hugely  he  had  enjoyed  putting  them  into  prison. 
He  thoroughly  confirmed  the  position  we  took  in  dealing 
with  them,  insisting  with  the  Kologasi  on  the  fact  that  the 
Turkish  Government  was  now  in  command  of  all  that 
region,  and  that,  therefore,  no  travellers  were  to  be  subject¬ 
ed  to  exactions  from  this  ancient  band  of  robbers  who  had 
preyed  for  centuries  on  the  caravans  from  Egypt  to  Kerak. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  the  Turkish  Government  had 
very  little  actual  existence  for  a  distance  of  five  or  ten  miles 
outside  Damascus.  When  any  foreigner  or  traveller  left 
that  city  he  was  practically  taking  his  life  in  his  hands  and 
was  under  the  obligation  of  caring  for  himself.  If,  by  any 
means,  he  had  acquired  friends  among  the  various  Arab 
tribes,  he  could  always  secure  trustworthy  guides  and 
travelling  companions.  About  the  year  1885  the  Govern¬ 
ment  began  to  push  its  actual  sway  down  the  highlands 
east  of  Jordan.  One  of  the  first  main  lines  of  its  policy 
was  to  offer  rich  lands  to  the  Circassian  tribes  from  Asia 
Minor.  In  1864,  when  Russia  acquired  the  Caucasus, 
these  Circassians,  rather  than  reckon  themselves  in 
subjection  to  that  power,  chose  to  migrate  to  Turkey,  and 
nearly  the  whole  nation  of  fifteen  tribes,  four  or  five 
thousand  people,  came  into  Turkey.  A  great  part  of  them 
found  homes  in  Asia  Minor,  but  one  section  served  the 
Turkish  Government  well  in  the  Bulgarian  troubles  of 
1876-77,  and  when  Europe  decreed  that  they  should  leave 
the  bloody  plains  and  cities  of  Bulgaria,  the  Turkish 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


3IQ 

Government  decided  to  pit  them  against  the  Bedawin  of 
the  desert,  and  brought  many  thousands  of  them  into  the 
country  east  of  the  Jordan,  and  slowly  drove  them,  like  a 
wedge,  down  the  highlands  until  there  are  now  not  less 
than  50,000  of  them  in  the  various  colonies.  The  Govern¬ 
ment  first  gave  them  vacant  lands  at  Baalbec,  and  from 
this  center  these  Circassians  proceeded  to  explore  the  un¬ 
occupied  territory  east  of  the  Jordan.  The  process  of 
occupation  was  a  simple  one.  The  Government  claims 
all  the  ancient  buildings  and  fortresses  of  all  ages,  no  matter 
what  tribes  of  Bedawin  may  tent  among  them.  Very  often, 
when  the  ownership  of  the  land  comes  into  question,  the 
Government  catches  the  poor  Arabs  on  the  horns  of  a 
dilemma.  “Who  owns  these  lands?”  “We  do,”  answer 
the  Arabs.  “Well,  where  are  your  tabu  deeds  and  when 
did  you  pay  your  taxes?”  When  the  sum  of  back  taxes 
claimed  was  equal  to  more  than  the  value  of  the  land,  not 
to  mention  the  absolute  poverty  of  the  Arabs,  their  only 
escape  was  to  deny  their  former  statements  and  be  glad 
enough  to  prove  that  they  neither  claimed  nor  owned  the 
land.  Then  the  Government  notified  these  Circassian 
colonists,  giving  them  the  vacant  lands,  furnishing  them 
with  seed  corn,  yokes  of  oxen  and  freeing  them  from  taxes 
and  military  conscription,  giving  them  a  free  hand  in  driv¬ 
ing  the  Arabs  back  into  the  desert.  This  is  what  happened 
at  Kuneitereh,  in  the  Jaulan,  at  Jerash  and  Amman,  in 
Ajlun,  and  at  Wady  Seir  in  Belka,  just  beyond  the  Dead  Sea. 
As  a  result  these  Circassians,  originally  strong  and  free, 
continued  to  cherish  their  unrestrained  love  of  independ¬ 
ence.  Their  colonies  were  joined  to  each  other  by  rough 
wagon  roads,  by  common  language,  common  modes  of  life, 
ties  of  marriage  and  of  united  action  in  their  relations  to 
the  Turkish  Government.  While  serving  nominal  masters 
they  held  this  ancient  frontier  of  the  desert,  and  this  served 
the  purpose  of  the  authorities  at  Constantinople  in  extend¬ 
ing  the  sway  of  the  Government  at  Damascus. 


How  We  Entered  Turkey  31 1 

About  the  same  time  (1885)  the  Government  established 
an  armed  camp  on  an  ancient  Roman  site,  one  of  the  cities 
in  the  Decapolis,  just  east  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  When 
this  regiment  of  mountain  soldiery  had  gained  a  sufficient 
foothold  among  the  surrounding  Arabs,  several  civil  offi¬ 
cials  were  sent  down  from  Damascus  and  the  military  au¬ 
thorities  and  their  soldiers  were  moved  another  fifteen 
miles  farther  south.  This  process  was  repeated  at  inter¬ 
vals  of  two  or  three  years  until  they  reached  Madeba,  which 
is  due  east  of  Jericho.  Then  the  camp  was  moved  toward 
Kerak,  the  ancient  Kir-Hareseth  of  the  Bible  (2  Kings  3). 
This  city,  a  great  natural  fortress  splendidly  rebuilt  by 
the  Crusaders,  defended  by  high  walls  above  deep  valleys, 
successfully  resisted  the  Government  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  was  finally  reduced  (1894)  by  an  assault  in 
which  cannon  were  employed  against  the  Arab  inhabitants. 
During  the  sixteen  years  which  have  elapsed  this  city  has 
revolted  more  than  once,  and  in  1910  the  civil  officials 
of  the  garrison  were  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  ancient 
Crusader  castle  and  await  rescue  at  the  hands  of  a  large 
army  sent  down  from  Damascus. 

The  Government,  however,  having  occupied  Kerak  with 
a  large  garrison  of  regular  soldiery,  again  proceeded  to 
push  a  small  armed  camp  southward.  They  occupied 
the  famous  Crusader  castle  called  Shobek,  and  from 
Shobek  pushed  southward  to  Ma’an,  which  has  since  be¬ 
come  a  great  railroad  center  in  connection  with  the  Hedjaz 
Railway.  From  Ma’an  they  pushed  their  armed  camp  to  a 
place  called  Guwaireh,  which  has  since  proved  to  be  the 
location  of  a  Roman  armed  camp  which  held  this  frontier 
against  the  Bedawin  tribes  eighteen  hundred  years  ago. 
Then  from  Guwaireh,  only  two  years  before  our  visit,  the 
Government  made  its  final  move  and  pushed  the  armed 
camp  into  Akaba.  So  that  when  we  pitched  our  tents 
above  the  town  we  were  in  actual  contact  with  this  armed 
camp  of  the  Government,  which  represented  the  thin  edge 


312 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


of  the  wedge  which  it  has  taken  the  Government  twenty- 
five  years  to  drive  into  this  part  of  the  desert. 

The  commander  of  the  camp  had  levelled  a  large  plaza 
above  the  town,  on  which  there  was  space  enough  for  a 
regiment  of  soldiers  with  their  tents  and  commissariat  and 
battery  of  light  cannon.  The  camp  was  in  the  form  of  a 
hollow  square,  within  which  the  regular  soldiers  did  their 
daily  drill  and  presented  a  great  object  lesson  to  the  eyes  of 
these  lawless  inhabitants,  who  for  centuries  have  preyed 
like  leeches  on  the  Egyptian  caravan  which  used  to  pass 
yearly  on  its  way  to  Mecca.  The  soldiers  had  dug  a  new 
well  in  the  gravelly  slope  above  the  town.  Water  was 
being  drawn  from  it  by  means  of  a  windlass  and  a  rope 
not  less  than  40  or  50  feet  long.  The  commander  of  the 
troops  gave  us  permission  for  all  the  water  needed  in  our 
camp,  and  this  proved  to  be  a  great  boon  when  we  found 
how  completely  defiled  the  wells  in  the  town  had  become 
through  the  carelessness  of  the  wretched  people  and  the 
hordes  of  Egyptian  pilgrims  once  accustomed  to  make  use 
of  them. 

The  special  guard  of  ten  soldiers  sent  by  the  Governor 
of  Kerak  disposed  themselves  about  our  tents,  and  while 
we  took  more  than  ordinary  precautions  against  sneak 
thieves,  we  did  sleep  quietly  that  night  in  close  touch  with 
the  Turkish  soldiers  and  surrounded  by  our  own  cameleers 
from  Sinai  and  muleteers  from  Beirut. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


AKABA  TO  MA'AN 

Akaba,  at  the  head  of  the  gulf,  is  a  beautiful  spot  (seen 
from  a  distance) ,  because  of  its  oasis-like  clusters  of  palm 
trees  and  the  shimmering  sea  at  their  base.  But  the  town 
itself  is  wretchedness  and  filth  personified.  Rain  seldom 
falls  here,  and  the  dirty  inhabitants  drink  from  brackish 
and  almost  putrid  wells.  The  old  Castle  or  Caravansary 
is  half  in  ruins  and  the  other  houses  are  mouldering  mud 
heaps.  If  one  heavy  rain  ever  came  these  houses  would 
crumble  into  ruins  in  a  few  hours. 

The  head  of  the  gulf  forms  a  natural  harbor.  Almost 
tideless,  landlocked,  with  an  abundance  of  gravelly  sea¬ 
shore.  The  water  is  beautifully  clear  and  contains  a  great 
abundance  of  edible  fish.  Now  and  then  an  English  gun¬ 
boat  visits  the  town  and  finds  safe  anchorage  within  200 
yards  of  the  shores.  It  might  some  day  become  a  port  of 
some  value.  At  present  the  fortunes  of  the  town  are  at 
a  low  ebb.  Indian  and  Egyptian  pilgrims  land  in  thou¬ 
sands  at  Jeddeh,  but  a  greatly  increasing  number  from  Per¬ 
sia,  Russia  and  North  Africa  make  for  the  coasts  of  Syria, 
and,  after  visiting  Damascus,  take  the  Hedjaz  Pilgrimage 
Railway  southward  along  the  old  desert  route  to  Medina, 
and  make  the  remainder  of  the  pilgrimage  in  the  old-fash¬ 
ioned  way  on  camels,  so  that  during  the  year  1909  only  a 
few  straggling  parties  of  the  poorest  Mograbies — North 
Africans — passed  through  Akaba.  Hence  the  main  oc¬ 
cupation  of  the  wretched  people  is  lost. 

During  our  encounter  with  the  sheikhs  and  the  military 
governor,  we  managed  to  examine  the  camp  and  note  that 

313 


3i4 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


it  contained  about  200  soldiers  of  the  regular  army  fairly 
well  equipped  with  light  cannon,  a  camel  corps  and  all  the 
paraphernalia  of  water-skins  and  outfit  for  trips  into  the 
desert.  We  heard  of  one  detachment  off  among  the  Beda- 
wins  and  saw  another  in  camp  half  way  to  Ma’an.  The 
whole  surrounding  country  was  in  a  turmoil,  of  which  we 
saw  many  signs  later  on. 

I  had  seen  this  camp  four  years  before  at  Ma’an,  pitched 
in  about  the  same  order.  The  low  military  tents  formed  a 
hollow  square,  inside  of  which  were  the  greater  part  of  the 
mules,  artillery  and  stores.  The  commander  was  living 
for  the  time  in  a  fairly  clean  room,  well-built  of  mud 
bricks  made  on  the  spot.  Another  double  room  was  oc¬ 
cupied  by  the  telegraph  station. 

After  our  unavoidable  delay  we  were  not  sorry  to  bid  the 
commander  “Good-bye”  and  turn  our  faces  northward 
along  the  Arabah.  It  was  a  superb  day  for  views  of  the 
western  side  of  the  great  rift,  and  as  we  pulled  up  the  slope 
away  from  the  town  we  could  see  northward  to  the  region 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  though  its  waters  were  below  the  line  of 
sight. 

After  an  hour  and  a  half,  we  swung  slowly  to  the  right, 
and  thirty-five  minutes  later  we  were  well  inside  Wady 
Yetem,  through  which  we  journeyed  for  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours.  This  valley  in  its  lower  reaches  is  little  more 
than  a  ravine,  but  not  too  steep  or  narrow  for  a  comfortable 
and  fairly  easy  road.  A  little  distance  up  this  valley,  at 
a  point  about  two  and  a  half  hours  away  from  Akaba,  is  a 
rather  massive  dyke  of  hewn  stone  called  el  Masadd,  the 
Arabic  word  meaning  a  “cork”  or  “plug.”  It  stretches 
directly  across  the  valley  and  is  about  100  yards  long,  8£ 
feet  thick  and  in  some  places  still  about  8  feet  high. 
The  road  passes  through  a  rough  break  near  the  center  of 
the  wall.  The  Arabs  have  several  insignificant  traditions 
concerning  its  former  use.  Several  explorers  in  the  past 
have  searched  in  every  direction  about  the  wall,  expecting 


Akaba  to  Ma’an 


3J5 


to  find  that  it  was  a  dam  for  retaining  the  water  in  the 
valley,  or  possibly  the  path  of  an  aqueduct,  all  of  which 
speculations  are  completely  at  fault.  Knowing  as  we  do 
now  of  the  existence  of  the  great  Roman  Wall  which  ex¬ 
tends  from  the  vicinity  of  Madeba  across  the  mountain 
tops  in  Moab  and  Edom,  to  keep  out  the  troublesome  Arabs, 
this  section  is  plainly  a  piece  of  that  same  wall  erected  at 
this  point  in  this  ancient  roadway  leading  from  Akaba  up 
to  the  plateau  above.  Its  Roman  origin  is  clearly  revealed 
by  a  comparison  with  other  sections  of  the  wall  which  are 
built  of  the  same  large  roughly  hewn  blocks  and  joined  with 
a  hard  Roman  cement,  which  retains  its  binding  character 
to  the  present  hour. 

Having  made  such  a  late  start  from  Akaba,  together 
with  the  fact  that  our  mules  were  rather  heavily  laden, 
we  found  it  necessary  to  pitch  our  camp  somewhat  nearer 
to  Akaba  than  we  had  hoped  and  at  some  distance  this  side 
of  where  water  was  said  to  exist.  We  chose  a  spot  near 
an  ancient  Arab  graveyard  which  bears  the  name  of 
Abu  Jiddeh. 

While  waiting  here  for  the  arrival  of  our  caravan  we 
were  able  to  take  stock  of  our  increasing  numbers,  a  matter 
of  vital  importance  when  viewed  in  connection  with  the 
fact  that  this  was  also  to  be  a  dry  camp,  and,  unfortunately 
for  us,  Milhem  had  sold  our  famous  water-barrels  for  a 
song  in  the  town  of  Akaba,  not  supposing  that  we  should 
have  any  further  need  of  them.  Our  caravan  included 
ten  soldiers  who  had  been  sent  so  many  days  before  from 
Kerak,  with  nine  others  which  the  commander  at  Akaba 
had  felt  necessary  for  our  safety,  making  nineteen  soldiers 
in  all.  There  were  our  seven  muleteers,  great  husky  fel¬ 
lows,  six  of  our  own  party,  and  the  crestfallen,  melancholy 
Sheikh  Ali,  in  all,  thirty- three  persons.  There  were  fifteen 
horses,  eighteen  mules,  two  camels  and  three  donkeys, 
thirty-eight  in  all,  making  a  total  of  seventy-one  thirsty 
mouths  needing  water.  The  camels  belonged  to  two 


316 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


splendid  specimens  of  desert  Arabs,  who  proved  such  faith¬ 
ful,  useful,  willing,  helpful  fellows  that  we  shall  never 
forget  them.  If  other  travellers  into  the  desert  about 
Kadesh  Barnea  or  Beersheba  have  need  of  guides  and  can 
secure  either  or  both  of  these  men  they  will  do  well.  I 
certainly  would  never  visit  that  section  of  the  world  again 
without  making  a  special  effort  to  secure  the  services  of 
these  fellows.  They  were  the  men  who  safely  piloted  our 
Beirut  caravan  from  Beersheba  across  the  desert,  a  nine 
days’  journey,  to  Akaba,  leading  the  well-laden  mules  and 
muleteers  from  desert  well  to  desert  well  in  safety  and 
on  time  to  Akaba.  Our  muleteers  were  lavish  in  their 
appreciative  expressions  concerning  their  skill,  kindness 
and  bravery.  We  quickly  decided  in  Akaba  to  take 
them  onward  as  far  as  Ma’an  and  Petra,  from  which 
point  we  started  then  due  west  across  the  Arabah  and  the 
desert  to  their  own  dwelling-place  at  Beersheba.  They  were 
Muhawish  Ibn  Salman  and  Omar  Ibn  Khalil,  and  may 
their  shadows  never  grow  less.  They  rode  two  of  the 
finest  riding  camels  we  saw  in  the  desert,  and  they  carried 
with  them  an  outfit  of  rifles,  ammunition,  heavy  sheep¬ 
skin  coats,  guns,  water-skins  and  bread  bags,  not  forgetting 
tobacco  pouches,  that  easily  made  them  independent  on 
the  longest  desert  stretches. 

With  this  party  of  seventy-one  thirsty  mouths,  not  to 
mention  the  necessities  of  Butrus  the  cook  and  the  kitchen 
tent,  our  first  concern  was  the  matter  of  the  water.  Our 
tents  were  not  pitched  until  almost  sunset,  and  several  of 
our  muleteers  and  five  or  six  of  the  foot  soldiers  went  up 
the  valley  in  search  of  a  fountain  known  to  exist.  They  led 
with  them  a  string  of  thirsty  horses,  mules  and  donkeys,  but 
after  an  absence  of  more  than  two  hours  and  a  half,  they 
came  back  in  the  darkness  without  having  been  able  to  find 
the  precious  water.  I  was  greatly  struck  by  the  fact  that 
after  their  long  hard  day  of  making  up  loads  in  Akaba, 
climbing  for  some  six  hours  as  they  did  through  this  arid 


Akaba  to  Ma’an 


3i7 


valley,  they  came  back  unmurmuring.  We  had  water  in 
our  smaller  skins  and  canteens  to  provide  the  supper. 
Along  about  midnight,  Muhawish,  without  a  word  of  sug¬ 
gestion  from  us,  showed  his  desert  training  and  splendid 
spirit  of  helpfulness.  Taking  all  the  empty  water-skins 
on  his  camel,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  muleteers,  he  dis¬ 
appeared  up  the  valley  in  the  darkness.  His  desert  instinct, 
perhaps  assisted  by  that  of  his  camel,  enabled  him  to  find 
the  precious  water  spring  fully  ten  minutes  away  from  the 
trail  in  the  valley,  and  after  two  hours  he  returned,  his  camel 
encircled  with  the  well-filled  wobbly  water-skins,  the  swish 
of  which  awakened  every  thirsty  human  being  in  the  camp. 
Almost  before  he  could  dismount  he  was  surrounded  by 
soldiers  and  muleteers,  who  were  raising  grateful  petitions 
in  the  darkness  for  his  everlasting  blessing  and  peace.  It 
was  an  act  of  service  that  raised  him  in  the  estimate  of  us  all 
and  for  which  we  shall  always  cherish  his  memory. 

The  next  day  (March  9th)  we  left  camp  at  7.30  a.  m., 
and  our  going  now  on  horses  changes  the  distance  covered 
during  the  hour.  Roughly  speaking,  the  camels  made  not 
more  than  two  to  two  and  a  half  miles  per  hour,  our  pack 
animals  easily  covered  three  miles  an  hour,  while  we,  more 
lightly  laden,  on  our  riding  animals,  were  frequently  an 
hour  or  two  ahead  of  them.  Just  an  hour  above  our  camp 
(at  8.30)  we  were  opposite  the  little  fountain  for  which  the 
muleteers  had  vainly  searched  the  night  before.  The 
name  given  to  us  was  Ain  Abu  Horon,  but  in  another  recent 
record  the  Dominican  fathers  of  St.  Etienne  at  Jerusalem 
give  the  name  as  Ain  Haldi.  At  any  rate  the  fountain  is 
to  the  right  and  about  ten  minutes  above  the  road,  good 
water  and  a  running  stream.  While  taking  careful  note 
of  its  character  and  location,  we  were  pleasantly  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  the  country  round  about  was  no  longer 
completely  desert.  Before  I  had  remounted  my  horse  I 
had  bagged  four  fat  pigeons,  one  partridge  and  a  good 
large  hare.  All  through  the  desert  of  Sinai  I  had  been  able 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


3i8 

to  shoot  nothing  except  immediately  in  front  of  and  op¬ 
posite  to  the  monastery  of  Saint  Katharine,  where  I  took 
toll  of  a  good-sized  covey  of  partridges.  But  from  this 
point  in  our  journey  onward  to  Jerusalem  there  was  not  a 
day  in  which  we  did  not  enjoy  some  game  upon  our  table. 
We  found  the  famous  blue-rock  pigeons  everywhere;  they 
are  strong  flyers  and  not  easy  to  shoot  on  the  wing.  Less 
abundant,  but  still  found  almost  everywhere,  is  the  large 
beautiful  plumaged  partridge  of  Syria,  one  of  the  finest 
game  birds  in  the  world.  In  and  about  the  rocks  of  Petra 
is  another  much  smaller  variety  of  brown  partridge,  re¬ 
sembling  in  size  and  appearance  the  ordinary  quail,  but 
in  its  habits  and  call  quite  plainly  of  the  partridge  family. 

Our  barometers,  readjusted  at  Akaba,  registered  405 
meters  (1328  feet)  in  our  camp  at  Abu  Jiddeh.  About 
three  hours  beyond  the  camp  the  valley  gradually  widens 
out,  and  an  hour  beyond  opens  into  the  Plain  of  El  Mezraa, 
which,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  a  cultivated  section  of  land 
at  an  elevation  of  800  meters  (2624  feet)  above  the  waters 
of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba. 

Here  in  this  plain  were  recently  discovered  a  large  mile¬ 
stone  of  Trajan  and,  in  the  vicinity,  several  other  mile¬ 
stones,  giving  at  once  the  direction  of  Roman  roads  which 
centered  at  this  spot.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  ancient  Roman  road  from  Ailah  (Elath)  on  the  coast  lay 
in  this  same  Wady  Yetem  which  we  have  just  traversed, 
even  though  we  had  noticed  no  traces  anywhere  except 
perhaps,  at  El  Masadd,  the  bit  of  Roman  wall  referred  to. 

This  plain  of  El  Mezraa  opens  out  an  hour  beyond  into 
the  great  plain  Hismeh,  which  runs,  generally  speaking, 
from  northwest  to  southeast.  Our  path  lay  diagonally 
across  this  plain  toward  the  northeast.  To  our  right 
the  landscape  ended  in  a  forest  of  isolated  peaks  or  small 
mountains  of  sandstone,  plainly  of  the  same  formation  and 
about  the  same  level  as  the  great  Petra  masses  and  the 
masses  already  referred  to  on  the  other  side  of  the  Gulf  of 


Akaba  to  Ma’an 


3i9 


Akaba.  In  the  center  of  this  plain  and  on  the  line  of  the 
Sultan’s  Highway  is  a  large  sandstone  mass  called  Muhai- 
meh,  at  the  base  of  which  we  saw  the  tents  of  another  small 
military  camp  which  we  had  heard  of  at  Akaba.  It  was 
placed  here  to  intercept  bands  of  predatory  Arabs  who 
might  be  tempted  to  run  through  this  country  from  the  dis¬ 
trict  farther  south,  where  all  was  at  this  very  time  confusion 
and  bloodshed.  Before  we  reached  this  camp,  however,  we 
were  pleasantly  surprised  by  another  detachment  of  cavalry 
of  some  nine  mounted  soldiers  which  came  out  quite  a  dis¬ 
tance  across  the  plain  and  lined  up  very  respectfully  on  our 
left  and  saluted  as  we  came  opposite  them.  We  afterward 
found  that  they  had  been  sent  a  day’s  journey  from  Ma’an 
to  meet  us  at  this  point.  In  one  of  the  tents  by  the  side  of 
the  sandstone  peak  was  a  little  temporary  telegraph  office, 
and  here  the  already  crestfallen  Sheikh  Ali  learned  to  his 
sorrow  that  his  fellow  sheikhs  were  all  safely  lodged  in  the 
prison  at  Akaba. 

The  ruins  about  this  peak  bear  the  name  Guwaireh. 
They  are  very  plainly  of  Roman  origin  and  stand  at  the 
juncture  of  Roman  roads,  one  of  which  led  directly  north 
into  Petra;  the  second,  along  which  we  had  come,  sloped 
downward  to  Akaba;  the  third,  which  marked  the  line  of 
our  route,  led  upward  to  the  great  plateau  and  on  to  Ma’an; 
while  the  fourth  one  extended  to  the  southeast  to  the  re¬ 
cently  discovered,  ancient,  rock-hewn  cities  of  Medayin 
Salih  and  unexplored  locations  beyond. 

After  the  arrival  of  our  caravan  and  the  pitching  of  our 
tents,  our  first  great  concern  was  again  the  matter  of 
water.  The  fountain  called  Ain  Guwaireh  lies  westward 
some  fifteen  minutes  away,  and,  as  we  found  to  our  sorrow, 
was  totally  insufficient  for  our  needs  after  the  soldiers  and 
officers  of  the  camp  had  satisfied  theirs.  The  larger  part  of 
the  thirty-six  horses,  mules  and  donkeys  had  gone  without 
water  at  the  camp  in  the  valley  below,  and  after  they  had 
been  loaded  in  the  morning  the  muleteers  inconsiderately 


32° 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


failed  to  avail  themselves  of  the  spring  at  Ain  Haldi,  there¬ 
fore  they  reached  Guwaireh  in  an  exceedingly  thirsty  condi¬ 
tion.  When  they  were  led  across  the  plain  to  the  little  Ain 
Guwaireh  they  found  it  a  small  muddy  puddle  with  perhaps 
five  or  six  gallons  of  water  in  the  bottom.  In  their  thirst 
and  consternation  our  muleteers  quarreled  with  our  own 
soldiers.  Meanwhile,  the  frantically  thirsty  mules  and 
horses  tramped  the  ground  around  the  spring  into  a  fright¬ 
ful  mud  hole,  and  they  all  came  back  to  the  camp  hot,  an¬ 
gry,  swearing  and  unhappy,  a  striking  contrast  to  their 
behavior  the  night  before.  The  military  commander 
of  the  camp  relieved  the  absolute  necessity  of  our  kitchen 
tent  by  the  gift  of  a  five-gallon  tin  of  nasty,  clayey,  discol¬ 
ored  water,  and  the  whole  camp  spent  a  troubled  and 
weary  night.  The  horses,  without  water,  were  unable  to 
eat  their  dry  food,  and  the  next  day  two  of  them  almost 
fainted  by  the  way.  I  mention  these  facts  to  warn  other 
travellers  from  Sinai  against  the  mistake  of  throwing  away 
their  water-barrels  before  they  reach  the  plateau  above. 

When  we  awoke  in  the  morning  we  found  a  last  peace¬ 
offering  of  old  Sheikh  Ali  tied  to  one  of  our  tent-ropes 
in  the  shape  of  a  small  and  rather  lean  lamb.  After 
paying  him  double  its  value  and  delivering  to  him  some 
more  good  advice  as  to  how  he  should  treat  travellers  in 
the  future,  we  relaxed  our  attitude  of  displeasure  enough  to 
bid  him  a  friendly  farewell.  I  charged  him  to  deal  rightly 
with  two  small  parties  whom  we  knew  would  be  following 
us,  but  I  afterward  learned  that  he  and  his  crew  blackmailed 
our  two  German  friends  to  the  extent  of  £5  each,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  prices  they  charged  them  for  their  camels.  So 
far  as  I  know  we  are  the  first  party  who  ever  succeeded  in 
having  provided  themselves  with  another  caravan  of  mules 
and  horses  at  Akaba,  and  of  thus  escaping  completely  these 
ancient  tricks  upon  travellers. 

Our  road  lay  across  this  plain  of  Hismeh  to  the  north¬ 
east  for  fully  four  hours,  to  the  base  of  the  final  ascent  to 


Akaba  to  Ma’an 


321 


the  plateau  beyond.  This  famous  ascent  along  the  line 
of  the  ancient  Roman  road  is  called  Nagb  Estar,  and  is 
truly  a  magnificent  natural  roadway,  winding  up,  around 
and  over  great  shoulders  of  the  mountains  in  the  very  oppo¬ 
site  direction  to  the  valley  winding  through  Wady  Yetem. 
During  this  ascent  the  surrounding  plain  of  the  whole 
district,  for  many  miles  in  every  direction  unrolls  itself  to 
the  eyes  of  the  delighted  traveller  in  a  superbly  beautiful 
panorama.  The  ascent,  itself,  occupies  fully  an  hour  and 
a  quarter,  overcoming  an  elevation  of  800  meters  (2624  feet) 
as  measured  from  our  camp  in  the  plain  below.  The  forest 
of  isolated  sandstone  mountains  or  peaks,  before  referred 
to,  finally  appears  below  us,  dotting  the  plain  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach  with  what  in  many  instances  seem  like  Cy¬ 
clopean  pyramids. 

During  the  afternoon  the  light  of  the  westering  sun, 
pouring  over  and  between  these  innumerable  masses  of 
colored  sandstone,  produces  effects  of  light  and  shade 
and  coloring  that  are  simply  indescribable.  They  form 
such  a  warm  coloring  against  the  staring  white  cavity  of 
the  Arabah  and  the  still  hazier  mountains  of  the  Tih 
beyond.  We  were  enchanted  with  this  constantly  widen¬ 
ing  panorama,  and  when  we  reached  the  top  of  the  nagb  we 
were  truly  saddened  at  turning,  possibly  for  ever,  from 
such  a  beautiful  scene.  Ten  minutes  beyond  the  top  of 
the  pass  we  came  to  the  ancient  Fuwaileh  with  its  ruined 
fortress  or  khan,  which  is  plainly  another  station  on  the 
great  Roman  road  which  once  resounded  to  the  hoofs  of 
Roman  war  horses  and  the  clang  of  the  Roman  chariots. 
About  an  hour  beyond  the  top  of  the  pass  is  one  of  the 
finest  fountains  (Ain  Abul-Lisan)  in  this  East  Jordan 
country.  It  lies  in  a  beautiful  grass-covered  slope,  and  a 
half-dozen  heads  or  sources  send  a  good-sized  stream  down 
the  valley  for  a  couple  of  miles  before  it  disappears  in  the 
rocks  and  sand.  We  camped  on  the  green  slope  at  the 
fountain  itself  and  spent  a  delightful  night,  because  every 
21 


322 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


animal  and  person  in  the  camp  was  relieved  of  the  thirst 
which  had  haunted  us  during  the  two  days  which  preceded. 
The  Arabs  themselves  rarely  camped  at  this  or  any  other 
fountain,  preferring  to  quench  their  thirst  and  then  seek 
some  more  secluded  and  safer  spot  an  hour  or  more  away. 
This  fountain  is  famous  as  a  rendezvous  for  the  Bedawin 
tribes  when  gathering  for  a  raid  in  this  section  of  the 
country.  It  is  large  enough  to  support  a  city  and  water 
gardens  on  either  side  of  the  valley  for  several  miles,  but, 
on  account  of  the  insecurity,  is  absolutely  destitute  of  any 
permanent  occupation.  Our  barometers  gave  the  eleva¬ 
tion  for  this  fountain  as  1510  meters  (4954  feet). 

The  journey  the  next  day  over  the  rolling  plains  of  Ma’an 
occupied  some  seven  and  three-quarter  hours  for  our  cara¬ 
van,  but  we,  accompanied  by  seven  mounted  soldiers  and 
our  two  Beersheba  cameleers,  pushed  ahead  and  covered 
the  distance  in  about  five  hours.  Our  first  call  was  on  the 
Kaimakam  or  Governor,  a  Turk  of  exceedingly  unprepos¬ 
sessing  and  sullen  aspect.  It  being  Friday,  he  kept  us  wait¬ 
ing  for  quite  a  while  before  he  appeared  in  a  dishevelled 
and  untidy  condition.  He  wore  dark  green  glasses  and 
slovenly  slippers  trodden  down  at  the  heel,  he  had  neither 
information  nor  suggestion  for  us,  and,  after  despatching 
telegrams  to  Beirut,  we  rode  another  hour  to  the  railroad 
station  at  Ma’an,  where  we  pitched  our  tents  for  the 
night. 

A  few  minutes  after  our  arrival  we  were  called  upon  by 
a  gentleman  who  furnished  a  splendid  contrast  to  this 
specimen  of  Turkish  indolence  and  stupidity.  It  was  our 
good  friend  Meisner  Pasha,  the  German  engineer  of  the 
Hedjaz  Pilgrimage  Railway.  Courteous,  clean,  scholarly 
and  obliging,  he  lost  not  a  moment  in  bringing  us  a  great 
package  of  some  fifty  letters  which  had  been  accumulating 
in  his  care  since  before  we  left  Cairo. 

During  the  next  eighteen  hours  we  had  many  other  proofs 
of  the  kindness  and  thoughtfulness  of  this  truly  delightful 


Akaba  to  Ma’an 


323 


friend.  He  gave  us  freely  all  the  information  we  sought 
concerning  the  building  of  the  Hedjaz  Railway,  and  in  a 
visit  to  his  home  entertained  us  with  a  view  of  his  extensive 
cabinets  of  European  minerals  and  curios  gathered  in  this 
part  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


THE  HEDJAZ  PILGRIMAGE  RAILWAY 

In  the  introductory  chapter  I  noted  the  fact  that  the 
first  stage  of  the  Route  of  the  Exodus  was  cut  by  the  Suez 
Canal  and  its  last  stage  by  the  Mecca  Railway,  and  here, 
at  Ma’an,  we  were  actually  in  contact  with  this  unique 
enterprise  of  modern  times.  It  was  conceived  during  the 
reign  of  the  deposed  Sultan  Abdul  Hamid  and  linked  up 
with  his  most  ambitious  project,  the  realization  of  the  Pan- 
Islamic  idea.  The  first  section,  from  Damascus  to  Ma’an, 
exactly  one-third  of  the  distance  to  Medina,  was  opened 
with  great  pomp  September  i,  1904,  at  Ma’an,  on  the  an¬ 
niversary  of  the  Sultan’s  accession.  Figure  65  gives  a 
unique  view  of  the  gathering  while  the  Sultan’s  message 
was  being  read.  Note  the  hands  in  the  act  of  supplica¬ 
tion.  Four  years  later  a  still  more  impressive  ceremony 
was  performed  at  Medina  by  officials  from  Constantinople, 
great  dignitaries  from  Mecca,  and  a  still  greater  gathering 
of  the  Arab  tribes  of  Arabia. 

The  ostensible  purpose  of  the  railway  is  given  in  its  name, 
the  Hedjaz  Pilgrimage  Railway,  and  the  final  plan  includes 
the  joining  of  the  Haramein,  the  two  holy  places,  Mecca 
and  Medina,  with  Damascus,  another  holy  city  in  the  world 
of  Islam.  It  is  supposed  that  150,000  pilgrims  might  be 
reckoned  upon  yearly,  but  whether  or  not  these  expecta¬ 
tions  have  been  realized  it  is  difficult  to  say.  In  1909  the 
Khedive  of  Egypt  came  via  Haifa  and  went  by  rail  to  Me¬ 
dina  on  his  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  A  year  later,  in  1910, 
the  Egyptian  “mahmal”  with  the  sacred  carpet  also  came 
to  Haifa  and  down  the  peninsula  by  this  same  railway  to 
Medina. 


324 


Listening  to  the  Sultan’s  Message  at  Ma'an  when  the  first  section  of  the  Hedjaz  Pilgrimage  Railway  was  opened, 

September  i,  1904 


The  Hedjaz  Pilgrimage  Railway  325 

That  the  railway  has  also  a  military  and  strategic  value 
no  one  will  deny.  The  sway  of  the  Turkish  Government  in 
all  Arabia  has  been  strengthened  and  when  the  final  link 
between  Mecca  and  Jeddeh  is  complete,  with  extensions  to 
Sanaa  and  other  points  southward,  it  should  be  much 
easier  to  subdue  and  control  these  turbulent  nomad 
tribes.  That  the  railroad  has  also  a  bearing  upon  the 
Egyptian  problem  is  fully  recognized.  When  the  famous 
Baghdad  Railway,  which  is  now  in  full  operation  to  Konia, 
is  completed  through  the  Taurus  Mountains,  as  promised 
for  1915,  it  will  be  linked  up  by  a  branch  with  Aleppo. 
Then  it  will  be  possible  to  go  by  an  unbroken  rail  route 
direct  from  Constantinople  to  Mecca,  not  to  mention  the 
same  possibility  from  Berlin  or  Paris. 

The  distances  are  not  small.  From  Damascus  to  Medina 
is  1302  kilometers  (about  840  miles).  The  branch  from  • 
Deraa,  the  old  capital  of  Og,  the  king  of  Bashan,  to  Haifa 
and  Mount  Carmel  is  another  16 1  kilometers  with  a  small 
spur  of  2  kilometers,  making  1465  kilometers  in  all,  which 
Meisner  Pasha  told  us  had  been  built  for  a  sum  of  3,500,000 
Turkish  pounds,  or  925  miles  for  $15,540,000,  or  less  than 
$17,000  per  mile.  When  the  revolution  occurred  in  1908 
the  road  still  needed  another  250,000  Turkish  pounds  to 
complete  bridges  and  culverts,  and  was  rapidly  falling  into 
disrepair.  The  Parliament  was  recently  considering  the 
possibility  of  a  new  loan  of  300,000  to  400,000  Turkish 
pounds,  with  which  to  cancel  floating  debts  and  to  con¬ 
struct  the  portion  from  Jeddeh  to  Mecca. 

No  railroad  wras  ever  more  strangely  financed,  since  it 
was  well  understood  from  the  beginning  that  it  could  never 
succeed  as  an  ordinary  financial  enterprise.  It  was  to  have 
been  built  by  gifts  from  pious  Moslems  all  over  the  world, 
but  these  were  supplemented  by  a  series  of  stamp  and  other 
acts  inside  the  Ottoman  Empire  that  are  unique  even  in 
Turkish  history.  When  the  voluntary  gifts,  which  were 
perhaps  less  than  one-hundredth  part  of  the  cost  required, 


326 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


grew  slack  the  Sultan  began  to  issue  Imperial  Rescripts, 
and  has  kept  up  this  process  until  there  are  stamps  or  im¬ 
posts  on  nearly  everything  in  the  Empire.  A  stamp  of 
one  piaster  (4  cents)  was  levied  upon  every  petition  pre¬ 
sented  to  the  government  authorities  for  every  conceivable 
purpose.  Then  came  a  house  tax  of  5  piasters  on  every 
house  in  Constantinople.  Provincial  governors  were  ex¬ 
pected  to  follow  this  shining  example.  Later  on  the  Sul¬ 
tan  decided  upon  a  minimum  tax  of  5  piasters  upon  every 
Moslem  male  in  the  Empire,  and  the  overloyal  periodicals 
published  articles  declaring  that  Moslems  in  all  lands 
ought  to  accept  this  call  willingly  and  render  the  same 
tribute  to  their  spiritual  head.  The  Rescript  gave  care¬ 
ful  directions  that  5  piasters  was  the  minimum  for  the 
poorest,  but  all  who  could  were  to  pay  according  to  their 
ability.  Then  the  salaries  of  all  government  officials  were 
treated  to  a  per  centum  assessment,  and  all  owners  of 
decorations ,  and  they  are  myriad,  were  directed  to  make  a 
thank  offering  according  to  the  grade  of  their  decorations, 
and  the  scale  of  gifts  was  published  in  all  the  papers. 
Wood  and  coal  were  subjected  to  a  new  impost,  and  so 
was  every  parcel  coming  through  every  custom  house  in 
the  Empire.  Another  Rescript  directed  that  all  the  skins 
of  all  the  animals  slaughtered  in  the  government  slaughter¬ 
houses  should  be  devoted  to  this  holy  project.  The  stamps 
were  gradually  extended  to  all  commercial  papers,  deeds, 
etc.,  and  all  the  foreign  embassies  put  in  their  protests. 
The  road  is  nominally  built  by  the  followers  of  the  Prophet, 
but  these  stamp  acts  have  put  both  the  Christians  and  the 
foreigners  under  tribute.  Almost  every  department  of  the 
government  has  been  obliged  to  make  some  contribution 
to  this  pet  scheme  of  the  Sultan.  There  have  been  times 
of  financial  stringency  when  foreign  sellers  of  railroad  equip¬ 
ments  have  been  ungracious  enough  to  require  a  cash  ac¬ 
companiment  to  orders  for  rails  and  rolling  stock.  German 
engineers  surveyed  the  road,  Americans  supplied  a  large 


The  Meeting  and  Parting-place  of  the  Old  Caravan  and  the  New  Railway 


The  Hedjaz  Pilgrimage  Railway  327 

part  of  the  rails,  but  the  work  of  digging  was  done  mainly 
by  the  battalions  0 f  regular  soldiers  sent  down  along  the  line 
for  that  purpose.  Special  inducements  were  offered  to 
those  who  would  use  the  pick  and  shovel  instead  of  the  rifle 
• — one  year  of  the  railroad  service  counting  as  two  years  of 
their  compulsory  military  service.  So  that  even  the  mili¬ 
tary  establishment  has  been  affected  by  this  marvelous 
project.  This  will  explain  how  the  1465  kilometers  have 
been  completed  at  an  apparently  small  expense. 

Of  the  first  $4,740,000  collected,  the  largest  item  on  the 
list  was  the  $2,650,000  from  the  skins  of  slaughtered  animals. 
At  a  later  stage  the  government  offered  some  17,000,000 
unused  stamps,  remnants  of  many  issues  during  the  past 
twenty-five  years,  for  sale,  and  the  proceeds  were  given 
to  the  railway  scheme.  It  is  further  said,  though  I  can¬ 
not  vouch  for  the  authority,  that  of  the  total  $16,000,000 
spent  on  the  project  up  to  November,  1908,  about  $6,000,000 
came  from  Moslems  outside  the  Turkish  Empire. 

An  intelligent  engineer  among  the  builders  of  this  desert 
railway  said  to  me  that  he  admired  Muhammad’s  shrewd¬ 
ness  in  placing  the  goal  of  the  Moslem  pilgrimage  in  the 
center  of  Arabia.  A  simple  numerical  calculation  will 
reveal  the  interesting  fact  that  the  pilgrims  bring  and  spend 
not  less  than  10,000,000  English  pounds  yearly  in  Arabia. 
This  and  this  alone  furnishes  a  livelihood  to  the  Arabs  of 
Arabia  and  keeps  them  all  in  good  fighting  trim.  If  the 
present  government  wished  to  subdue  completely  the 
troublesome  Bedawin,  and  dared  to  take  such  a  step,  it 
could  do  so  by  stopping  the  pilgrimage  for  from  three  to 
five  years  and  at  the  same  time  cutting  off  the  entrance  of 
contraband  arms  and  ammunition  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea 
and  Gulf  of  Akaba. 

The  railway  follows  the  line  of  an  ancient  caravan  route 
from  Damascus  into  Arabia  over  which  Muhammad  jour¬ 
neyed  as  a  trader  with  camels  before  he  assumed  the  r61e 
of  prophet.  And  in  one  of  his  journeys  to  Egypt  he 


328 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


passed  through  Sinai,  as  witnessed  by  a  traditional  resting- 
place  in  Wady  Selaf  near  the  Oasis  of  Feiran.  The  rail¬ 
road  below  Ma’an  passes  from  oasis  to  oasis  as  did  the 
ancient  caravan  and  pilgrimage  route. 

The  Waly  of  Damascus  had  promised  us  a  permit  to 
go  down  the  railway  to  el  Ula,  the  farthest  point  open  to 
foreigners.  But  while  we  were  in  Sinai  some  Bedawin  had 
raided  that  particular  station  and  massacred  the  thirty- 
nine  employes  and  guards,  leaving  not  a  soul  to  tell  the  tale. 
This  fact,  in  addition  to  the  existence  of  a  cholera  cordon, 
where  we  should  have  been  quarantined  on  our  return 
journey,  easily  decided  the  matter  for  us. 

Incidentally  this  Pilgrimage  Railway  has  opened  up  for 
tourists  one  of  the  most  interesting,  and  formerly,  most 
inaccessible,  sights  of  the  world.  For  one  long  day’s 
journey  across  the  rolling  plateau  westward,  followed  by 
a  descent  from  5400  to  2000  feet,  you  are  at  the  famous 
entrance  of  Petra.  And  thither  we  traced  our  footsteps 
from  Ma’an. 

Each  year  as  the  railhead  was  carried  farther  into  the 
desert  the  pilgrims  were  carried  in  trains  to  the  railhead  and 
then  transferred  to  the  tents  and  camels  of  the  ancient 
caravan.  It  was  a  strange  meeting  and  parting  of  the  Old 
World  and  the  New.  See  Figure  66  for  a  sight  that  we  shall 
never  be  able  to  see  again.  Figure  67  gives  us  a  good  idea 
of  the  future  pilgrimage  as  it  halts  for  the  sunset  prayer. 


The  Halt  for  the  Sunset  Prayer  on  the  Hedjaz  Pilgrimage  Railway 


CHAPTER  XXX 


THE  ROCK  CITY  OF  PETRA 

The  highlands  east  of  the  Jordan  River  are  strewn  with 
ruins  marking  the  rise  and  fall  of  successive  civilizations 
— Semitic,  Greek,  Roman,  Christian,  Mohammedan  and 
Crusader.  These  ruins  have  been  preserved  for  the  mod¬ 
ern  explorer  by  the  tides  of  nomadic  life  which  have  swept 
up  from  the  Arabian  desert,  but  at  the  southern  end  of  this 
no-man’s  land,  deep  in  the  mountains  of  Edom,  lies  one 
of  the  strangest,  most  beautiful  and  most  enchanting 
spots  upon  this  earth — the  Rock  City  of  Petra.  Its  story 
carries  us  back  to  the  dawn  of  human  history.  When  Esau 
parted  in  anger  from  Jacob  he  went  into  Edom,  then  called 
Mount  Seir,  and  after  dispossessing  the  Horites  became 
the  progenitor  of  the  Edomites,  who  remained  the  enemies 
of  the  children  of  Israel  for  a  thousand  years.  These 
Edomites  had  princes,  or  kings,  ruling  in  the  Rock  City 
while  the  children  of  Israel  were  still  in  Egyptian  bondage. 
Some  of  the  darkest  maledictions  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophets  are  those  aimed  at  Edom. 

A  GREAT  “SAFE  DEPOSIT0 

In  the  days  of  the  Nabatheans  Petra  became  the  central 
point  to  which  the  caravans  from  the  interior  of  Arabia, 
Persia  and  India  came  laden  with  all  the  precious  com¬ 
modities  of  the  East,  and  from  which  these  commodities 
were  distributed  through  Egypt,  Palestine,  Syria  and  all 
the  countries  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean,  for  evenTyre 
and  Sidon  derived  many  of  their  precious  wares  and  dyes 
from  Petra.  It  was  at  that  time  the  Suez  of  this  part  of  the 

329 


330 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


world,  the  place  where  the  East  and  the  West  met  to 
trade  and  barter.  It  was  also,  in  fact,  a  great  “safe 
deposit,”  into  which  the  great  caravans  poured  after 
the  vicissitudes  and  dangers  of  the  desert.  Its  wealth 
became  fabulous,  and  it  is  not  without  some  good  reason 
that  the  first  rock  structure  one  sees  in  Petra,  guarding 
the  mysterious  entrance,  is  still  called  “Pharaoh’s  Treas¬ 
ury.”  It  must  have  been  the  Nabatheans  who  developed 
the  natural  beauties  of  the  situation  and  increased  the 
rock-cut  dwellings,  temples  and  tombs  to  the  almost  inter¬ 
minable  extent  in  which  they  are  found  to-day. 

The  palmy  period  of  the  Nabatheans  extended  from  150 
B.  C.  to  106  A.  D.,  when  the  Romans  conquered  the 
country  and  city,  extended  two  Roman  roads  into  it,  and 
established  the  province  of  Arabia  Petra.  The  Rock  City 
was  always  to  these  regions  and  peoples  what  Rome  was  to 
the  Romans  and  Jerusalem  to  the  Jews.  Horites,  Edomites, 
Nabatheans  and  Romans  have  all  rejoiced  and  boasted  in 
the  possession  of  this  unique  stronghold  and  most  remark¬ 
able  city  of  antiquity. 

When  Rome’s  power  waned  and  the  fortified  camps  on 
the  edge  of  the  desert  were  abandoned,  no  doubt  the  sol¬ 
diers  were  withdrawn  from  such  cities  as  Petra.  Then  the 
Romanized  Nabatheans  or  Nabatheanized  Romans  held 
their  own  against  the  desert  hordes  as  long  as  they  could, 
and  went  down  probably  about  the  same  time  as  the  Greek 
cities  of  the  Decapolis  (636  A.  D.).  From  this  time  on¬ 
ward  Petra’s  history  becomes  more  and  more  obscure,  and 
for  more  than  a  thousand  years  Edom’s  ancient  capital 
was  completely  lost  to  the  civilized  world.  Until  its  dis¬ 
covery  by  Burckhardt,  in  1812,  its  site  seems  to  have  been 
unknown  except  to  the  wandering  Bedawin. 

THE  SIK,  OR  ENTRANCE  DEFILE 

The  entrance  to  the  Rock  City  is  the  most  striking  gate¬ 
way  to  any  city  on  our  planet.  It  is  a  narrow  rift  or  defile, 


Photo  by  Libbey  and  Hoskins 


The  Rock  City  of  Petra 


33i 


bisecting  a  mountain  of  many  hued  sandstone,  winding 
through  the  rock  as  though  it  was  the  most  plastic  clay. 
This  sik,  or  defile,  is  nearly  two  miles  long.  Its  general 
contour  is  a  wide  semicircular  swing  from  the  right  to  the 
left,  with  innumerable  short  bends,  having  sharp  curves  and 
corners  in  its  general  course. 

The  width  of  the  Sik  varies  from  1 2  feet  at  its  narrowest 
point  to  35  or  40  feet  at  other  places.  Where  the  gloomy 
walls  actually  overhang  the  roadway  and  almost  shut  out 
the  blue  ribbon  of  sky,  it  seems  narrower,  and  perhaps  at 
many  points  above  the  stream  the  walls  do  come  closer  than 
12  feet.  Photographs  of  these  narrower  and  darker  por¬ 
tions  of  the  defile  are  impossible.  Only  where  the  walls 
recede  and  one  side  catches  the  sunlight  (Fig.  68)  was  it 
possible  to  secure  any  views  that  would  reveal  the  actual 
beauties  of  the  place.  Then  no  camera  could  be  arranged 
to  take  in  the  whole  height  of  the  canyon.  The  height  of 
the  perpendicular  side  cliffs  has  been  estimated  at  from 
200  to  1000  feet.  Heights,  like  distances,  in  this  clear 
desert  air  are  deceptive,  but  after  many  tests  and  observa¬ 
tions  we  are  prepared  to  say  that  at  places  they  are  almost 
sheer  for  300  to  400  feet. 

Seen  at  morning,  midday,  or  midnight,  the  Sik,  this 
matchless  entrance  to  a  hidden  city,  is  unquestionably 
one  of  the  great  glories  of  ancient  Petra.  Along  its 
cool,  gloomy  gorge  file  the  caravans  of  antiquity — from 
Damascus  and  the  East,  from  the  desert,  from  Egypt  and 
the  heart  of  Africa.  Kings,  queens  and  conquerors  have 
all  marveled  at  its  beauties  and  its  strangeness.  Wealth 
untold  went  in  and  out  of  it  for  centuries,  and  now  for  over 
thirteen  hundred  years  it  has  been  silent  and  deserted. 

PHARAOH’S  TREASURY 

The  first  time  we  picked  our  way  in  this  matchless 
defile,  we  wandered  on  amazed,  enchanted  and  delighted, 
not  wishing  for,  not  expecting  that  anything  could  be  finer  • 


332 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


than  this,  when  a  look  ahead  warned  us  that  we  were  ap¬ 
proaching  some  monument  worth  attention,  and  suddenly 
we  stepped  out  of  the  narrow  gorge  into  the  sunlight  again. 
There  in  front  of  us,  carved  in  the  face  of  the  cliff,  half  re¬ 
vealed,  half  concealed  in  the  growing  shadows,  was  one 
of  the  largest,  most  perfect,  and  most  beautiful  monu¬ 
ments  of  antiquity — Pharaoh’s  Treasury1  (see  Fig.  69). 
Almost  as  perfect  as  the  day  it  came  from  beneath  the 
sculptor’s  chisel,  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  years 
ago,  colored  with  the  natural  hues  of  the  brilliant  sand¬ 
stone,  which  added  an  indescribable  element  to  the  archi¬ 
tectural  beauty;  flanked  and  surmounted  by  the  cliffs, 
which  had  been  carved  and  tinted  in  turn  by  the  powers  of 
nature ;  approached  by  the  mysterious  defile — it  was  almost 
overpowering  in  its  effect. 

Descriptions  of  the  width  and  height  and  the  details  of 
this  monument  of  antiquity  may  enable  many  to  reproduce 
for  themselves  some  of  its  striking  features;  but  neither 
language,  measurements  nor  pictures  can  give  more  than  a 
bald  idea  of  the  temple  and  its  charming  surroundings. 
The  secret  of  its  magic  seems  to  be  the  culmination  of  man’s 
best  efforts  with  the  powers  and  beauties  of  nature. 

Located  at  the  end  of  a  long  and  difficult  journey, 
whether  one  comes  from  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  from 
Sinai,  from  Egypt,  or  from  any  point  of  Syria  east  or  west 
of  the  Jordan;  set  in  the  mountains  of  mystery,  at  the  gate¬ 
way  of  the  most  original  form  of  entrance  to  any  city  on 
our  planet;  carved  with  matchless  skill,  after  the  concep¬ 
tion  of  some  master  mind;  gathering  the  beauties  of  the 
stream,  the  peerless  hues  of  the  sandstone,  the  towering 
cliffs,  the  impassable  ravine,  the  brilliant  atmosphere, 
and  the  fragment  of  blue  sky  above — it  must  have  been 
enduring  in  its  effect  upon  the  human  mind.  We  saw  it 
in  its  desolation,  a  thousand  years  after  its  owners  had  fled 
— tempest,  flood  and  earthquake  having  done  their  worst, 
1  Now  called  by  archaeologists  the  “Temple  of  Isis.” 


Petra — Pharaoh’s  Treasury.  Temple  of  Isis 
Photo  by  Myers  and  Hoskins 


The  Rock  City  of  Petra 


333 


aided  by  the  puny  hand  of  the  wandering  Arab,  to  mar  and 
disfigure  it— and  we  confess  that  its  impression  upon  our 
hearts  and  memory  is  deathless. 

To  portray  the  marvelous  coloring  of  these  masses  of 
sandstone  and  to  give  anything  like  a  correct  view  of  this 
unique  feature  of  Petra  is  something  we  attempt  with  mis¬ 
givings.  From  the  moment  we  sighted  the  great  castellated 
mass  in  which  the  city  lies  hidden  until  we  took  our  last 
glimpse  from  the  highlands  above,  we  never  ceased  to 
wonder  at  the  indescribable  beauties  of  the  purples,  the 
yellows,  the  crimsons  and  the  many  hued  combinations. 
Whether  seen  in  the  gloom  of  the  Sik,  or  the  brilliant 
sunshine,  that  seemed  to  kindle  the  craggy,  bristling  pin¬ 
nacles  into  colored  flames,  they  continued  to  inspire  our 
surprise. 

Travellers  have  vied  with  each  other  in  their  attempts 
to  describe  these  beauties.  After  the  solid  colors  of  red, 
purple,  blue,  black,  white  and  yellow,  the  never-ending 
combinations  are  best  compared  with  watered  silk  or  the 
plumage  of  certain  birds. 

We  shall  be  listened  to  if  we  say  with  all  soberness 
that  “the  half  was  never  told”  of  the  effect  of  this  many 
hued  landscape;  for  we  saw  it  glistening  with  the  rain¬ 
drops  after  the  showers,  we  saw  it  before  the  sunrise,  we 
saw  it  under  the  noonday  sun,  and  we  noticed,  as  perhaps 
no  one  had  done  before  us,  the  way  in  which  these  ancient 
sculptors  fixed  the  levels  of  their  tombs,  temples  and 
dwellings  so  as  to  make  most  artistic  use  of  the  more 
beautiful  strata  in  the  mountain  walls,  and  we  marveled 
again  and  again,  in  the  never-ending  ravines,  how  these 
ancient  dwellers  consciously  practiced  a  kind  of  landscape 
gardening;  where,  instead  of  beautiful  effects  produced  by 
banks  of  fading  flowers,  all  was  carved  from  the  many 
hued  and  easily  wrought  solid  stone,  which  took  on  new 
beauties  as  it  crumbled  away. 


334 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


THE  GREAT  THEATER 

Not  far  from  Pharaoh’s  Treasury  is  a  great  theater 
in  what  may  be  called  the  Appian  Way  of  the  city. 
It  stands  among  some  of  the  finest  tombs — a  theater  in  the 
midst  of  sepulchers.  The  floor  of  the  stage  is  120  feet  in 
diameter.  Fully  5000  spectators  could  have  found  comfort 
in  the  thirty- three  rows  of  seats.  Here  also  the  coloring 
of  the  sandstone  is  brilliant,  and  at  certain  places  in  the 
excavation  the  tiers  of  seats  are  literally  red  and  purple 
alternately  in  the  native  rock.  Shut  in  on  nearly  every  side, 
these  many  colored  seats  filled  with  throngs  of  brilliantly 
dressed  revelers,  the  rocks  around  and  above  crowded  with 
the  less  fortunate  denizens  of  the  region,  what  a  spectacle 
in  this  valley  it  must  have  been!  What  an  effect  it  must 
have  produced  upon  the  weary  traveller  toiling  in  from 
the  burning  sands  of  the  desert,  along  the  shadows  of  the 
marvelous  Sik,  past  the  vision  of  the  Treasury,  and  into 
the  widening  gorge  that  resounded  with  the  shouts  of  the 
revelers,  in  the  days  of  its  ancient  glory. 

The  eastern  wall  of  the  valley,  near  the  entrance,  rises 
to  a  height  of  more  than  500  feet.  For  a  length  of  1000 
feet  the  face  of  the  cliff  is  carved  and  honeycombed  with 
excavations  to  a  height  of  300  feet  above  the  floor  of  the 
valley. 

Here  are  found  some  of  the  most  impressive  ruins  in  the 
city.  The  Urn  tomb  in  the  center  has  in  the  rock  behind  it 
a  room  over  60  feet  square,  whose  beautiful  colored  ceiling 
can  be  compared  to  a  great  storm  in  the  heavens.  The 
Corinthian  tomb  and  temple  are  among  the  largest  and 
most  beautifully  colored  monuments  in  any  of  the  walls. 

The  Deir  (Fig.  70)  is  reached  by  one  of  the  great  ravines, 
up  which  winds  a  path  and  stairway  until  an  elevation  of 
700  feet  is  attained.  A  small  plateau  opening  toward  the 
south  gives  an  extended  view  of  Mount  Hor  and  all  the 
southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  depression.  The  spot  is 


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wholly  inaccessible  except  by  the  one  rocky  stairway  and 
winding  path. 

The  Deir  is  carved  from  the  side  of  a  mountain  top,  but 
not  protected  by  any  overhanging  mass.  It  is  larger  than 
the  Treasury,  but  not  nearly  so  fine  in  coloring  or  design. 
It  is  impressive  in  its  size  and  its  surroundings,  but  cannot 
be  called  beautiful. 

Finally,  if  you  will  remember  that  originally  the  whole 
valley,  from  its  beginning  at  the  door  of  the  Sik  until  its 
exit  among  the  fissures  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
is  one  huge  excavation  made  by  the  powers  of  nature,  the 
torrent  and  the  earthquake;  and  that  the  hand  of  time,  the 
frost,  the  heat  and  the  tempest  have  been  busy  through  the 
ages  cracking,  smoothing,  chiseling  mountain  top,  deep 
ravine  and  towering  cliff  into  a  myriad  of  fantastic  forms, 
and  that  the  subtler,  silent  agencies  of  Nature’s  alchemy 
have  been  adding  the  most  brilliant  hues  to  mouldering 
sandstone  strata,  you  cannot  but  be  charmed  and  amazed 
at  the  result  of  her  handiwork. 

Then  when  you  enter  the  city  by  the  winding  valley  of 
the  Sik,  gaze  at  the  stupendous  walls  of  rock  which  close 
the  valley  and  encircle  this  ancient  habitation,  and  mark 
how  man  himself,  but  an  imitator  of  Nature,  has  adorned 
the  winding  bases  of  these  encircling  walls  with  all  the 
beauty  of  architecture  and  art — with  temple,  tomb  and 
palace,  column,  portico  and  pediment — while  the  mountain 
summits  present  Nature  in  her  wildest  and  most  savage 
forms,  the  enchantment  will  be  complete,  and  among  the 
ineffaceable  impressions  of  your  soul  will  be  the  memories 
of  this  silent,  beautiful  “rose- red  city  half  as  old  as  time.” 

But  the  connection  of  Petra  with  the  Exodus  comes 
along  a  religious  line.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
site  was  occupied  by  the  king  of  Edom,  to  whom  Moses 
sent  his  messengers  from  Kadesh  Barnea,  and  that  not  a 
few  of  the  Children  of  Israel  first  or  last  had  entered 
the  ancient  city  and  visited  the  famous  “High  Places” 


336 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


which  undoubtedly  existed  at  that  day,  and  which  still 
existing  to-day  are  in  many  respects  the  most  interesting 
sight  in  Petra.  The  main  High  Place1  is  the  most  perfect 
specimen  known  to  exist  (Fig.  71),  with  its  “mazzabah,” 
its  colossal  stairway,  its  rock-cut  court,  the  lavers,  the  block 
of  sacrifice  and  the  two  rock-cut  altars  (Fig.  72).  This 
spot  has  been  visited  by  travellers  since  Petra  had  been 
rediscovered  by  Burckhardt  in  1812,  but  its  real  significance 
was  not  appreciated  until  1881,  when  several  Biblical  stu¬ 
dents  (Curtis,  Robinson  and  others)  called  attention  to  its 
ancient  origin  and  meaning. 

Professor  Libbey  and  I  had  the  great  privilege  of  dis¬ 
covering  a  second  “High  Place”  in  Petra  in  March,  1902, 
and  in  1905  Professor  P.  V.  Myers  and  I  located  still  a 
third,  which  we  fully  reported  with  measurements  and  il¬ 
lustrations  to  the  Biblical  World  shortly  after  our  return. 

From  the  days  of  Abraham  to  those  of  Solomon  the  Bible 
makes  many  references  to  the  worship  on  the  high  places. 
It  was  a  natural  and  at  first  an  innocent  impulse  which  led 
men  to  resort  to  the  hills  for  worship.  There  the  worship¬ 
pers  were  brought  nearer  to  the  heavens,  and  the  separa¬ 
tion  of  those  retired  eminences  from  the  scenes  of  the  usual 
routine  of  daily  occupation  suggested  the  idea  of  sacredness. 
Sinai,  Hor,  Nebo,  Ebal  and  Gerizim,  Ramah  and  Jerusalem 
play  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  the  religious  life 
of  the  Children  of  Israel.  The  literature  of  other  nations, 
and  their  attempts  to  build  in  the  low-lying  plain  structures 
that  would  imitate  the  mountain  heights,  bear  testimony  to 
the  same  impulse  and  instinct. 

Leaving  the  fuller  discussion  of  the  more  recondite  ques¬ 
tions  as  to  how  far  the  Israelites  were  influenced  by  the 
example  of  the  Egyptians  at  Serabit,  the  Moabites  and  the 
Canaanites  to  wider  and  later  study,  we  may  point  out  briefly 
some  of  the  matters  that  come  into  prominence.  That 
these  spots  were  for  worship,  and  not  for  ceremonies  con- 

1  See  “  J.  V.  and  P. Vol.  II,  p.  171. 


The  Rock  City  of  Petra 


33  7 


nected  with  the  burial  of  the  dead  alone,  is  evidenced  by  the 
elevated  location  of  the  main  High  Place  in  Petra,  and  the 
absence  of  tombs  anywhere  within  hundreds  of  yards  of  it. 
That  the  worship  included  the  element  of  sacrifice  is  proved 
by  the  accessories  of  all  such  well-preserved  locations. 
That  they  reproduce  in  a  striking  manner  the  main  features 
of  Israel’s  tabernacle — the  sanctuary,  the  court,  the  lavers, 
the  altars,  etc. — is  undeniable.  Now,  whether  the  Israel¬ 
ites  borrowed  from  the  Moabites,  or  the  Moabites  from  the 
Israelites,  or  both  from  another  source,  is,  of  course,  an 
interesting  question,  but  one  of  the  plainest  and  most  val¬ 
uable  inferences  lies  on  the  surface,  and  is  this:  these  high 
places  bear  the  strongest  testimony,  along  with  older 
references  in  literature,  to  the  great  age  of  the  idea  and 
practice  of  sacrifice,  pushing  it  back  into  the  earliest 
periods.  Whether  it  was  animal  or  human,  or  both,  will 
perhaps  some  day  be  known  more  fully. 

In  the  reign  of  Solomon  we  are  suddenly  confronted  by 
an  unusual  development  of  the  worship  on  high  places.  It 
was  one  of  the  sins  of  this  great  king  that  he  burnt  sacri¬ 
fices  on  so  many  of  these  high  altars.  His  foreign  wives 
induced  him  to  build  high  places  for  “Ashtoreth,  the  abom¬ 
ination  of  the  Zidonians;  for  Chemosh,  the  abomination 
of  the  Moabites,  and  for  Milcom,  the  abomination  of  the 
Children  of  Ammon”  (i  Kings  11:1752  Kings  23:  13).  In 
spite  of  the  construction  of  the  Temple,  this  idolatrous  wor¬ 
ship  introduced  from  foreign  nations,  and  the  worship  of 
Jehovah  on  high  places  went  on  increasing  for  many  years. 
The  conflict  between  the  two  is  suggested  in  Solomon’s 
days.  Elijah  complains  that  the  altars  of  God  are  thrown 
down  and  neglected,  and  he  himself  burns  incense  on  the 
reconstructed  altar  on  Mount  Carmel.  This  conflict 
grew  sharper  in  the  day  of  Asa  and  the  kings  who  followed 
him,  until  the  impression  is  sharply  defined  that  all  the  wor¬ 
ship  on  these  high  places  was  idolatrous  and  hence  illegit¬ 
imate.  Then  followed  the  centralizing  of  worship  and  sac- 
22 


33« 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


rifice  at  the  one  altar  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  warfare  waged 
against  all  the  high  places  in  the  Holy  Land.  The  reasons 
for  this  are  not  far  to  seek.  The  ritual  and  worship  at  these 
myriad  local  altars,  after  Solomon’s  accession,  degenerated 
from  the  older  and  simpler  standard,  and  their  heathen 
practices  had  been  introduced  into  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
itself.  Any  reform  in  Jerusalem  must  needs  have  issued  in 
a  warfare  against  all  local  shrines.  Hence  the  interesting 
fact,  that  to  find  the  mazzeba  and  other  accessories  of 
this  worship  on  high  places  we  must  go  to  Edom  and  other 
portions  of  Syria,  which  lay  beyond  the  sphere  of  the 
Jewish  kingdom’s  influence  and  control.  And  here  in 
Petra  are  certainly  the  most  perfect  specimens  of  these 
interesting  remains  of  the  centuries  before  the  monarchy 
and  perhaps  the  Exodus. 


Photo  by  Libbcy  and  Hoskins 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


KADESH  BARNEA,  MOUNT  HOR,  EDOM  AND  MOAB 

Robinson  and  other  scholars  thought  the  Children  of 
Israel  might  have  reached  Kadesh  Barnea  by  way  of  Ara- 
bah  from  Ezion  Geber ,  but  I  am  much  more  inclined  to  think 
that  they  may  have  gone  up  via  Wady  el  Ain  or  even  Wady 
Taba  and  that  they  came  down  the  Arabah  thirty-seven 
years  later.  The  main  reason  for  this  is  an  intelligible  one. 
They  failed  to  enter  the  Promised  Land  by  way  of  Hormah, 
which  probably  corresponds  to  the  location  Sebaita,  in  the 
western  extremity  of  the  “desert  of  the  wandering.”  They 
afterward  found  the  whole  Nigeb  or  “South  Country” 
barred  against  their  passage,  and  it  was  perfectly  natural 
for  them  to  look  toward  the  Arabah  and  “by  the  Coast  of 
Edom.”  Hence,  when  the  people  were  all  assembled  at 
Kadesh  for  the  final  march,  “Moses  sent  messengers  from 
Kadesh”  unto  the  king  of  Edom  “seeking  for  a  passage 
through  his  territory  “by  the  King’s  highway,”  again  sug¬ 
gesting  the  existence  of  well-known  roads  even  through 
the  country  east  of  the  Jordan.  The  salt  morasses  and  the 
rugged  shores  of  the  western  side  of  the  Dead  Sea  offered 
no  way  of  escape  directly  into  the  Jordan  Valley.  The 
cliffs  of  Moab  on  the  east  are  absolutely  impassable  to  the 
present  day  to  any  living  creature,  hence  the  only  route  was 
down  and  across  the  Arabah  into  Edom,  and  the  messengers 
went  in  advance  of  the  great  host.  Perhaps  even  before  the 
surly,  churlish  answer  came  back  the  host  moved  down  the 
great  natural  roadway  from  Kadesh  and  encamped  before 
Mount  Hor,  undecided  as  to  which  of  the  great  passes  they 
would  take  through  Edom.  This  route,  viewed  from  the 
geographical  point  of  view,  is  the  most  natural  one  possible. 

339 


340 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


I  have  viewed  and  reviewed  every  argument  advanced 
for  the  “Jebel  Madurah  site  of  Mt.  Hor,”  and  every  argu¬ 
ment  against  the  traditional  site,  and  am  completely  con¬ 
firmed  in  favor  of  Jebel  Haroun,  the  traditional  Mount  Hor. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  “ sphere  of  influence”  claimed 
or  held  by  Edom  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus  or  later,  the 
natural  western  boundary  of  Edom  must  always  have  been 
the  Arabah  and  Mount  Hor  “by  the  border  of  the  land  of 
Edom”  (Num.  20:  23),  and  fits  the  documents  as  the  key 
fits  the  lock,  which  is  by  no  means  true  of  any  other  loca¬ 
tion.  If,  as  we  believe,  Edom’s  capital  city,  Petra,  was 
then  occupied  by  its  king,  dukes  and  people,  there  is 
abundant  reason  to  believe  that  communication  existed 
between  the  Children  of  Israel  at  Kadesh  and  Edom  during 
the  years  of  the  “wandering,”  and  the  descent  of  the  Chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel  from  Kadesh  down  to  the  Arabah  would  not 
have  given  any  more  anxiety  than  is  actually  revealed  in 
the  churlish  answer  of  Edom’s  king.  For  the  Children  of 
Israel  had  now  left  the  country  of  foreign  enemies  and 
had  come  into  contact  with  their  own  blood  relations, 
even  though  they  were  decidedly  unfriendly. 

This  region  of  Edom  comes  into  history  as  Mount  Seir 
in  the  days  of  Chedorlaomer  and  Abraham.  It  then  em¬ 
braced  the  mountainous  district  from  the  Dead  Sea,  south 
of  the  Zered  (Ahsa),  to  the  east  arm  of  the  Red  Sea;  it  was 
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  desert  and  on  the  west  by  the 
deep  valley  of  the  Arabah.  Its  principal  peak  was  Jebel 
Neby  Haroun,  known  as  Mount  Hor,  which  bears  the 
ancient  name  of  the  region  to  the  present  day.  It  wras  the 
home  of  the  Horites,  who  emerge  at  the  dawn  of  human 
history.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  name  “Horites” 
means  “cave-dwellers,”  but  it  may  also  signify  “the  white 
race.”  Professor  Maspero  identifies  it  with  Khar,  the 
Egyptian  name  for  Southern  Palestine. 

Some  time  after  Jacob  had  fled  to  Paddan-aram  from  the 
anger  of  his  brother,  Esau  left  Isaac,  his  father,  and  made  his 


Aaron’s  Tomb  on  Mt.  Hor 


Kadesh  Barnea,  Mount  Hor,  Edom  and  Moab  341 


home  in  Mount  Seir.  Eventually  his  descendants  dispos¬ 
sessed1  the  Horites  of  Mount  Seir,  gaining  possession  of  the 
country  both  by  war  and  by  marriage  with  the  inhabitants, 
and  the  result  of  intermarriage  was  the  mixed  race  known  as 
the  Edomites.  Their  kings  reigned  in  the  land  of  Edom 
at  the  time  when  the  Children  of  Israel  were  in  Egypt. 
When  the  Hebrews  at  length  escaped  from  Egypt  and 
reached  the  borders  of  Edom  they  found  that  the  fierce 
fires  of  Esau’s  anger  still  burned  in  the  hearts  of  his  de¬ 
scendants,  and  neither  the  king  nor  the  people  of  Edom 
would  listen  to  their  request  for  permission  to  pass  through 
Edom  on  their  way  to  the  Promised  Land,  although  they 
offered  to  pay  for  both  food  and  water  which  they  might 
consume  (Deut.  1 1 :  4-8)  as  they  passed  through.  In  order 
not  to  wage  war  with  a  kindred  people  the  Children  of 
Israel  turned  back  from  the  borders  of  Edom  and  marched 
southward  through  the  desert  dowrn  the  Arabah,  between 
the  cliffs  of  the  Tih  on  the  west  and  the  range  of  Edom  on 
the  east,  until  they  reached  the  Red  Sea,  when  they  turned 
to  the  left.  They  rounded  the  southern  end  of  the  moun¬ 
tains  of  Edom  and  then  marched  north  along  the  eastern 
border  of  Edom  toward  Moab. 

This  churlish  refusal  of  the  Edomites  was  never  for¬ 
gotten  by  the  Israelites;  though  the  Edomites  were  regarded 
as  brethren  by  the  law  and  were  allowed  certain  privileges 
beyond  some  other  nations,  the  hostility  of  the  two  peoples 
to  each  other  disfigures  all  their  mutual  relations  until  the 
Edomites  disappear  for  ever  from  history.  The  Edomites 
were  conquered  by  David  (2  Sam.  8:  14),  Jehoshaphat  and 
Amaziah  (2  Chron.  25:  n).  In  the  time  of  Ahaz,  when 
Pekah  and  Rezin  made  war  against  Judah,  the  Edomites 
invaded  the  land  and  carried  off  captives,  and  a  century 
and  a  half  later,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  (587  B.  C.)  be¬ 
sieged  Jerusalem,  the  Edomites  joined  in  taking  and  sack¬ 
ing  the  city,  and  appropriated  a  portion  of  its  territory. 

1  Deut.  11:12. 


342 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Israel’s  prophets  never  spared  Edom;  Joel  predicts  its 
desolation,  Amos  denounces  judgment  upon  it,  but  foretells 
the  ultimate  incorporation  of  the  remnant  of  Edom  with 
Israel.  Jeremiah  makes  it  the  subject  of  one  of  his  mina¬ 
tory  poems.  Obadiah  speaks  of  little  else  but  the  cruelty 
of  Edom  to  Israel  and  the  certainty  that  the  Edomites  will 
be  destroyed  in  spite  of  their  rocky  fastnesses,  their  numer¬ 
ous  allies  and  their  far-famed  wisdom.  Ezekiel  declares 
the  vengeance  of  Jehovah  that  awaits  it,  and  Malachi  pro¬ 
nounces  that  its  overthrow  is  to  be  perpetual. 

The  region  of  Mount  Hor  is  “paved  with  the  good  in¬ 
tentions”  of  travellers  unfulfilled.  Burckhardt  (1811) 
struggled  hard  to  ascend  Mount  Hor,  but  was  obliged  to 
halt  on  the  little  plain  half-way  up,  without  reaching  the 
top.  Neither  Laborde  (1827)  nor  Robinson  (1838)  was 
allowed  to  make  the  attempt.  Many  other  parties  since 
their  day  have  seen  the  white  tomb  on  its  summit  from  afar, 
and  sadly  against  their  will  have  turned  away  from  it  for 
ever.  But  since  the  roads  have  become  better  known,  and 
travellers  have  been  able  to  dispense  with  native  guides, 
the  ascent  has  been  made  by  a  number  who  have  left  some 
records  of  their  experiences. 

I  have  had  the  privilege  of  climbing  Mount  Hor  at  three 
different  times  and  of  enjoying  the  superb  views  from  its 
lofty  summit.  The  difficulties  are  not  physical,  but  arise 
from  the  jealousy,  cupidity  and  superstitions  of  the 
people,  who  claim  the  shrine  and  guard  its  approaches. 
The  Bedawin  who  roam  over  the  land  of  Edom  have  been 
described  by  travellers  as  the  worst  of  their  race.  Pococke 
speaks  of  the  Arabs  about  Akaba  and  the  Arabah  as  bad 
people.  He  calls  them  notorious  robbers,  who  are  always 
at  war  with  all  others.  Joliffe  alludes  to  the  district  as  one 
of  the  wildest  divisions  of  Arabia.  Burckhardt  says  that 
in  this  region  he  felt  fear  for  the  first  and  only  time  dur¬ 
ing  his  travels  in  the  desert,  and  that  this  route  was  the 
most  dangerous  he  ever  travelled.  He  had  nothing  with 


Tafileh  from  the  South 


Kadesh  Barnea,  Mount  Hor,  Edom  and  Moab  343 

him  that  ought  to  have  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Bedawin 
or  have  excited  their  cupidity,  and  yet  they  even  stripped 
him  of  some  rags  that  covered  his  wounded  ankles. 
Leigh,  Banks,  Irby  and  Mangles  (1818)  were  told  that 
the  Arabs  of  Wady  Musa  were  a  most  savage  and  treach¬ 
erous  race,  murdering  pilgrims  from  Barbary,  and  acting 
toward  all  comers  as  the  Edomites  did  toward  the  Israelites 
when  they  refused  them  passage  through  this  country  on 
the  way  to  the  Promised  Land.  It  is  a  mystery  why  this 
ancient,  world-old  churlishness  should  appear  in  the 
modern  dwellers,  but  so  it  is.  They  seem  to  have  drawn 
it  from  the  soil  or  to  have  absorbed  it  from  the  fountains. 
But  whatever  its  explanation,  here  it  is,  three  thousand 
years  and  more  since  Moses  was  rebuffed. 

Aaron’s  tomb  on  Mount  Hor  is  now'  a  Moslem  shrine. 
Like  Moses’  tomb,  below  Nebo,  it  has  been  coveted  and 
fought  for  by  Christians,  and  more  especially  by  Jews, 
whose  reverence  for  both  these  Israelite  heroes  is  well 
known  to  the  Moslems.  It  will  be  woe  to  the  poor  Jew, 
for  many  years  to  come,  who  is  found  within  twenty-five 
miles  of  that  sacred  spot  on  Hor. 

Another  element  entering  into  the  situation  is  the 
deeply  rooted  superstition  connected  with  the  tomb,  ac¬ 
cording  to  which  the  people  firmly  believe  that  evil  will 
surely  befall,  before  the  year  is  out,  the  wretched  man  who 
commits  the  sacrilege  of  aiding  or  guiding  any  stranger  to 
the  sacred  spot  at  the  top  of  the  mount.  It  is  true  that 
their  cupidity,  now'  and  then,  overcomes  their  fears,  but 
the  deep-rooted  superstition  and  the  dread  of  evil  raise  the 
price  demanded.  As  late  as  1883  the  party  made  up  of 
Kitchener,  Armstrong  and  Hull  paid  £34  ($170)  for  the 
privilege  of  one  day  to  visit  Mount  Hor,  and  afterward 
passing  through  Petra.  Ordinarily  the  amount  of  bakshish 
depends  upon  the  number  of  men  who  get  wind  of  the 
strangers’  coming,  and  who  reach  the  spot  in  time  to  claim 
a  share.  It  is  then  “many  men,  many  money.”  When 


344 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


their  superstitions  and  cupidity  have  not  availed,  they  have 
often  thwarted  parties  by  threatening  to  plunder  their  camp 
or  caravans  while  the  owners  were  climbing  the  mountain, 
and  a  party  strong  enough  to  hold  its  own  while  united, 
dared  not  subdivide  itself  and  become  an  easy  prey  to  the 
unscrupulous  people. 

During  my  various  visits  I  found  that  no  matter  how 
willing  the  Arabs  about  Petra  were  to  serve  us  in  camp, 
they  would  not  act  as  guides  up  Mount  Hor.  At  my  first 
visit  with  Professor  Libbey  a  certain  Musa  begged  off  from 
having  anything  to  do  with  the  ascent.  He  afterward 
compromised  with  his  conscience  and  promised  to  meet  us 
on  top  if  we  ever  reached  there.  He  kept  his  promise  and 
appeared  on  the  summit,  but  we  never  learned  how  he 
placated  the  “Neby”  or  the  villagers,  who  would  have 
killed  him  had  they  seen  him. 

Travellers  coming  from  Hebron  or  the  south  speak  of 
Mount  Hor  as  the  highest  mountain  in  sight  along  the 
route.  Its  mass  of  reddish  sandstone  and  conglomerate 
“rises  in  a  precipitous  wall  of  natural  masonry,  tier  above 
tier,  with  its  face  to  the  west.  The  base  of  the  cliff  of  sand¬ 
stone  rests  upon  a  solid  ridge  of  granite  and  porphyry,  and 
the  summit  of  the  sandstone  is  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a 
rude  pyramid.”  “No  more  grand  monument  could  be  erec¬ 
ted  to  the  memory  of  a  man  honored  by  God,  than  that 
which  Nature  has  here  reared  up.  For  amidst  this  region 
of  natural  pyramids  Jebel  Haroun  towers  supreme.  .  .  . 
Jehovah  passing  sentence  of  premature  death  upon  His 
servant,  for  a  public  act  of  disobedience,  left  him  not  to 
die  without  honor,  and  for  ever  after  the  most  conspicuous 
peak  in  all  this  country  has  been  inseparably  connected 
with  his  name  and  stands  a  monument  to  his  memory.”1 

The  appearance  of  the  white-domed  tomb  on  the  sum¬ 
mit  (Fig.  73)  reminds  one  strongly  of  the  similar  rude 
buildings  on  the  top  of  Jebel  Musa  at  Sinai.  The  views, 

1  Hull  (1883). 


Kadesh  Barnea,  Mount  Hor,  Edom  and  Moab  345 

beginning  with  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  easily 
rival  in  sublime  desolation  the  wildness  of  the  region  about 
Sinai.  The  district  westward  is  a  mass  of  twisted  strata, 
impassable  gorges,  bottomless  ravines,  to  the  plain  and 
desert  of  the  Arabah,  which  was  visible  for  fifty  miles  of  its 
extent  south  of  the  Dead  Dea.  Northward  lies  the  great 
Petra  mass  and  higher  plateau  of  Edom,  and  eastward 
great  billowy  masses  of  mountains  bare  and  about  naked 
of  trees  and  verdure,  only  the  fantastic  shapes  into  which 
the  mountains  are  weathered  and  the  subdued  glow  of  their 
coloring  redeeming  them  from  utter  desolation.  So  that 
while  there  is  a  “scarcity  of  marked  features”  compared 
with  other  views  in  Sinai  and  the  Holy  Land,  it  still  re¬ 
mains  true  that  the  outlook  from  Mount  Hor  is  one  of  the 
grandest  conceivable  over  a  waste  of  mountain  solitude  and 
the  chasm  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Our  barometers  in  1902  reg¬ 
istered  4600  feet;1  adding  to  this  1290  feet  we  have  a 
depth  of  5890  feet  to  the  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

FOURTH  SECTION  OF  THE  ROUTE 

After  the  death  and  burial  of  Aaron  at  Mount  Hor  the 
Children  of  Israel  made  their  way  down  the  Arabah  (Deut. 
2 :  8)  and  began  their  last  march  toward  the  Promised  Land. 
Having  crossed  the  great  depression  below  the  Dead  Sea, 
they  once  again  climbed  through  winding  valleys  to  the 
desert  plateau  and  over  heights  rivalling  the  elevations 
about  Sinai.  They  journeyed  many  miles  along  the  breezy 
plateaus  of  Edom  and  Moab  at  heights  between  3500  and 
5000  feet.  Generally  speaking,  the  greatest  heights  were 
reached  about  Edom,  and  neglecting  for  a  moment  the 
great  rift  at  the  Brook  Zered  and  the  Arnon,  the  plateaus 
slope  gently  down  to  the  plains  of  Moab  to  some  2500  to 
2800  feet  at  Madeba.2 

1  The  height  given  by  Kitchener  in  1883  is  4580  feet,  as  determined  by 
triangulation. 

2  See  “J.  V.  and  P.,”  Vol.  I,  p.  33. 


34^ 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


The  line  of  march  is  known  from  many  of  the  names 
which  remain  until  this  present  day.  Zalmonah,  Punon, 
Oboth  (Num.  33:41,  42  and  21:  10)  are  lost  because  they 
seem  to  have  been  the  names  of  camps  or  localities  of  the 
“dukes  of  Edom”  who  correspond  to  our  modern  Arab 
Emirs.  Iye-Aherim,  “the  fountains  of  the  regions  beyond,” 
would  apply  to  many  a  series  of  fountains  in  that  land. 
Tophel  (Deut.  1 :  1)  has  been  found  in  the  modern  Tahleh, 
of  which  a  photograph  is  given  in  Figure  74.  It  is  a  great 
well-watered  amphitheater  two  days  beyond  Petra,  with 
splendid  groves  of  olive  trees.  The  “brook  Zared  (Zered),” 
the  “brook  of  the  willows,”  in  Isaiah  15:  7,  and  the  “river 
of  the  wilderness,”  in  Amos  6  :  14,  is,  without  doubt, 
Wady  el  Ahsa.  (See  Fig.  75  for  a  glimpse  of  this  val¬ 
ley,  which  afterward  became  the  southern  boundary  of 
Moab.) 

The  brooks  of  Arnon,  the  modern  Mu  jib,  is  one  of  the 
finest  canyons  in  the  world,  and  the  view  of  Figure  76 
shows  the  plural  character  of  the  great  trough  toward  the 
east.  Somewhere  in  that  vicinity  the  Children  of  Israel 
crossed,  and,  after  passing  through  Beer,  Bamoth,  Jahaz 
and  Azoer,  came  to  Dibon  (Joshua  13  :  17),  which  name 
clings  to  a  ruin  (Fig.  78)  to  this  present  hour.  These 
ruins  have  been  made  for  ever  famous  by  the  discovery 
of  the  Moabite  stone.  After  Dibon  they  came  into  the 
plains  of  Moab  around  Madeba,  which  whole  country  is 
redolent  with  the  memories  of  Moses.1 

Moab2  is  mentioned  once  in  Genesis  and  again  in  the 
Song  of  Moses  (Exodus  15 :  15),  but  its  history  begins  in  the 

1  Those  who  wish  to  study  more  fully  the  present  condition  of  Edom  and 
Petra,  Moab  and  Madeba,  the  country  in  which  lies  the  fourth  and  last 
section  of  the  Route  of  the  Exodus,  will  find  eight  or  ten  fully  illustrated 
chapters  in  the  two  volumes,  “The  Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,”  which  the 
author  of  this  volume  wrote  in  collaboration  with  Professor  Libbey  of  Prince¬ 
ton,  and  from  which  several  of  the  accompanying  photographs  are  repro¬ 
duced. 

2  Moab  was  explored  by  Seetzen  in  1808;  Burckhardt,  1812;  De  Saulcy, 
1853;  Tristram,  1873;  and  Condor,  1885. 


Kadesh  Barnea.  Mount  Hor,  Edom  and  Moab  347 


third  part  of  the  book  of  Numbers,  chapters  21  to  36.  The 
events  of  these  last  fifteen  chapters,  and  those  of  all  the  book 
of  Deuteronomy,  took  place  in  the  plains  of  Moab.  The 
wanderings  ended  when  the  Children  of  Israel  crossed  the 
Brook  Zered  (Num.  21  :  11-13),  but  several  months  elapsed1 
before  they  crossed  the  Jordan,  and  all  the  events  of  this 
period,  except  the  campaign  against  Og,  King  of  Bashan, 
took  place  in  the  plains  and  land  of  Moab.  The  epi¬ 
sodes  mentioned  extend  from  the  end  of  the  wanderings  to 
the  beginning  of  the  conquest  of  the  Promised  Land,  west  of 
the  Jordan.  After  Sihon,  King  of  the  Amorites,  and  Og, 
King  of  Bashan,  were  overcome,  Balak,  King  of  Moab, 
made  vain  use  of  enchantments  against  Israel.  He  called 
for  Balaam,  son  of  Beor,  to  come  and  curse  “this  people, 
for  they  are  too  mighty  for  me,”  but,  instead  of  malediction, 
he  heard  from  Balaam  the  glorious  future  of  Israel  (Num¬ 
bers  22-24). 

Here  occurred  also  that  sad  lapse  of  the  Israelites  into 
idolatry  (Numbers  25)  at  Shittim,  and  their  entangling 
defilements  with  the  Moabites  whom  they  had  conquered. 
Here  also  took  place  the  second  numbering  of  the  people 
(Num.  26)  after  the  ravages  of  the  plague,  the  appointment 
of  Joshua  as  successor  of  Moses  (Num.  27),  and  the  alloca¬ 
tion  to  two  and  a  half  tribes  of  territory  east  of  the  Jordan 
(Num.  32).  Here  Moses  gave  directions  concerning  the 
partition  of  the  land  west  of  the  Jordan  among  the  remain¬ 
ing  tribes,  and  appointed  the  cities  of  refuge  (Num.  35:  10- 
34).  Here,  also,  in  the  plains  of  Moab,  Moses  delivered  all 
the  final  commands  of  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  and  after 
his  farewell  address,  on  the  first  day  of  the  eleventh  month 
of  the  fortieth  year,  ascended  Nebo  for  the  last  time  and 
died.  Thus  in  the  land  of  Moab  ends  the  Exodus  and  the 
wanderings,  Joshua  takes  command,  Moses  dies,  the  Pen¬ 
tateuch  closes  and  the  conquest  of  the  Holy  Land  begins. 

1  Numbers  33 : 44-48  mentions  five  encampments  between  the  east  and 
the  west  borders  of  Moab. 


348 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


The  land  in  its  present  desolation,  its  insecurity,  its 
lawlessness  and  its  mournful  ruins,  is  an  open  commentary, 
lighting  up  with  electric  flash  the  heavy  pall  of  denuncia¬ 
tions  heaped  by  the  prophets  upon  the  lands  of  Moab  and 
Edom  (Figs.  79,  80,  81).  For  Moab  is  mentioned  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty-eight  times  in  the  Old  Testament,  thirty 
of  these  references  occurring  in  one  chapter  in  Jeremiah 
(chap.  48),  where  the  fate  of  the  land  and  its  people  is  the 
bitterest  meted  out  to  any  of  Israel’s  enemies.  Moab’s 
“cities  shall  become  a  desolation  without  any  to  dwell 
therein,  and  cursed  be  he  that  keepeth  back  his  sword 
from  (Moab’s)  blood.”  The  one  gleam  of  sunlight  over 
its  breezy  plains  is  the  idyllic  story  of  Ruth,  the  Moabitess, 
grandmother  to  King  David,  and  in  the  line  of  “the  genera¬ 
tions  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham.” 


Descent  into  Arnon  Canyon 


CHAPTER  XXXII 


MADEBA,  MOSES,  AND  THE  MOSAIC  MAP 

Twenty-five  years  ago  Madebawas  still  a  desert  mound, 
lost  in  the  Moab  plateau.  The  Adwan  Arabs,  mentioned 
so  often  by  travellers,  pitched  their  tents  and  pastured  their 
flocks  about  the  mound  and  in  the  floor  of  the  ancient  pool, 
without  knowing  or  caring  that  the  ruins  of  a  once  flourish¬ 
ing  city  lay  beneath  their  feet.  But  in  1880  some  Christians 
from  Kerak,  weary  of  being  trampled  upon  by  the  more 
powerful  tribes  and  clans,  in  their  never-ending  blood 
feuds  and  pillage,  resolved  to  quit  that  city  and  found  a 
new  colony  about  the  mound  of  ancient  Madeba.  In 
turning  over  the  soil,  preparatory  to  erecting  their  rude 
dwellings,  they  came  upon  extensive  remains  of  cut  stone, 
broken  pillars,  ruined  cisterns  and  fragments  of  ancient 
pavements  in  mosaic.  Tristram,  who  visited  the  mound 
in  1873  before  the  place  contained  any  settled  inhabitants, 
said:  “I  have  seen  no  place  in  the  country  where  excava¬ 
tions  seem  more  likely  to  yield  good  results,”  and  the  re¬ 
sults  have  abundantly  justified  his  expectations.  For  dur¬ 
ing  the  course  of  twenty-five  years  these  modern  builders 
have  uncovered  perhaps  a  dozen  Christian  churches  and 
basilicas.  Almost  every  ruin  has  yielded  inscriptions 
which  are,  strangely  enough,  all  found  in  the  mosaic 
pavements  of  these  places  of  Christian  worship.  Among 
the  larger  Byzantine  inscriptions  is  one  referring  to  a 
basilica  dedicated  to  the  Virgin.  And  in  the  floor  of  a 
small  ancient  church  is  the  following  injunction:  “In  gazing 
upon  the  Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  and  upon  Him 
whom  she  brought  forth,  Christ,  the  Sovereign  King,  only 

349 


35° 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


Son  of  God,  be  thou  pure  in  mind  and  flesh  and  deeds,  in 
order  that  thou  mayest,  by  thy  pure  prayers,  find  God 
Himself  merciful.” 

When  the  Kerak  people  settled  on  the  mound,  the  Latins 
seized  a  most  commanding  site  and  built  a  modest  church 
and  school,  which  now  boasts  a  small  clock- tower.  Other 
settlers  came  from  the  surrounding  country,  until  there 
were  several  thousand  people  gathered  together.  Then 
the  government,  some  fifteen  years  ago,  made  it  a  govern¬ 
ment  center  and  built  a  small  serai  on  the  ruins  of  a  church. 
The  Greek  orthodox  people,  in  looking  for  a  site,  seized 
upon  the  ruins  of  an  old  basilica  to  the  northwest  of  the 
mound,  and  here  has  been  made  the  second  great  dis¬ 
covery  beyond  the  Jordan,  if  we  give  the  first  place  to  the 
Moabite  Stone.  The  site  is  in  a  little  saddle,  where 
the  roads  fork  toward  the  Jordan  and  Jerash,  and  all 
around  are  fragments  of  mosaic  pavements,  which  once 
drained  their  rainfall  into  huge  cisterns,  now  the  largest 
and  cleanest  in  Madeba.  Among  these  neglected  frag¬ 
ments  of  ancient  pavements  was  found  the  precious  mosaic 
map  of  the  fifth  century. 

It  is  now  known  that  in  1884  a  Greek  monk  living  east  of 
the  Jordan  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Greek  Patriarch  of  Jeru¬ 
salem,  telling  him  of  a  mosaic  pavement  at  Madeba  covered 
with  names  of  cities,  such  as  Jerusalem,  Gaza,  Nicopolis, 
Neapolis,  etc.  The  Patriarch  Nicodemus  made  no  answer, 
but  after  he  was  exiled  and  Gerasimos  put  in  his  place,  the 
new  Patriarch  found  the  letter  of  the  Madeba  monk  six 
years  after  it  was  written,  that  is,  in  1890.  Gerasimos, 
guessing  that  this  was  an  important  archaeological  discov¬ 
ery,  sent  a  master  mason  with  orders  that  if  the  mosaic 
was  a  fine  one  to  include  it  in  the  church  which  was  to  be 
built  at  Madeba  for  the  use  of  the  Greek  population.  The 
mosaic  was  at  that  time  almost  complete,  and,  by  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  those  who  saw  it,  contained  the  names  of  Smyrna 
and  other  towns  as  far  away.  But  the  stupid  builder,  in 


Diban,  where  the  Moabite  Stone  was  found 


Madeba,  Moses,  and  the  Mosaic  Map  351 


his  great  desire  to  build  on  the  ancient  foundations,  des¬ 
troyed  the  greater  part  of  it,  and  drove  a  pilaster  right 
through  the  priceless  piece  that  he  did  not  completely 
destroy.  After  the  mischief  was  done,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  relic  lost  for  ever,  he  went  back  to  Jerusalem  and 
reported  that  the  mosaic  did  not  possess  the  importance 
which  had  been  attributed  to  it. 

It  was  not  until  December,  1896,  that  Father  Cleopas, 
the  librarian  of  the  Greek  Patriarchate,  went  to  spend  a 
few  days  at  Jericho.  His  Patriarch  Gerasimos,  still  un¬ 
easy  about  the  matter,  urged  him  to  push  on  as  far  as  Ma¬ 
deba.  When  he  returned  in  January,  1897,  it  was  with 
notes  and  sketches  which  proved  a  surprise  and  a  delight 
to  the  archaeological  world.  Then — alas,  it  was  almost  too 
late ! — measures  were  taken  to  preserve  the  mutilated  frag¬ 
ments,  and  draughtsmen,  photographers  and  archaeologists 
all  hastened  to  the  rescue.  Our  photograph  (Fig.  84) 
shows  what  remains  of  the  map  and  the  iron  fence  now  pro¬ 
tecting  it.  Thus,  to  the  Greek  monk,  to  Father  Cleopas 
and  the  Greek  Patriarch  belong  the  honor  of  having  saved 
the  fragment  of  this  unique  map  of  the  early  Christian 
centuries. 

The  large  church  (Fig.  83)  which  was  built  over  the  map 
cost  1500  Turkish  pounds,  and  bears  on  its  front  a  terra¬ 
cotta  medallion,  the  same  as  the  one  noticed  at  Remamin, 
bearing  witness  to  the  fact  that  much  of  the  money  came 
from  Russia. 

The  map  originally  occupied  the  whole  width  of  the 
church,  which  was  about  50  feet  long  and  from  20  to  22 
feet  from  side  to  side.  It  was  drawn  from  east  to  west,  and 
not  from  north  to  south,  as  is  the  case  in  maps  of  to-day. 
The  point  occupied  by  Madeba  which,  alas,  has  disap¬ 
peared,  would  have  been  located  near  the  center  of  the 
present  nave,  in  front  of  the  main  door  of  the  church. 
All  the  northern  part  of  the  map  is  lost  forever,  except  two 
small  and  unimportant  pieces.  The  part  which  remains, 


352 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


and  in  which  there  are  also  various  breaks,  embraces  the 
country  from  Nablous  to  the  mouth  of  the  Nile.  The 
orientation  of  the  map  is  not  exact.  They  took  as  a  base 
the  line  of  the  seashore  on  the  Mediterranean,  and  as  this 
line  runs  from  southwest  to  northeast,  it  follows  that  the 
axis  of  the  map,  which  corresponds  with  the  axis  of  the 
church,  extended  from  Jaffa  to  Madeba,  and  consequently 
inclined  visibly  to  the  south. 

One  cannot  expect  in  this  map  either  the  mathematical 
precision  or  the  multiplicity  of  details  which  are  the  merit 
of  modern  maps.  It  is  rather  a  rude  sketch  designed  to 
illustrate  biblical  history.  Decorative  art  occupies  a  large 
place.  Objects  and  names  are  traced  in  proportions  which 
do  not  conform  to  any  exact  scale,  and  the  perspective  is 
wholly  conventional,  but  it  supplies  a  number  of  new  iden¬ 
tifications.  The  mountains  are  drawn  with  a  combination 
of  lines  and  colors  which  do  not  fail  to  produce  on  the  eye 
the  effect  desired.  The  Dead  Sea  is  a  wavy  expanse  of 
blue,  enlivened  by  two  ships  of  impossible  proportions,  but 
altogether  picturesque.  On  the  Jordan  one  sees  a  ferry¬ 
boat,  whose  mast  slides  along  a  boom  extending  from  bank 
to  bank,  while  gigantic  fishes  play  in  the  waters.  In  the 
desert  palms  mark  the  oases  and  the  lion  pursues  the 
gazelle. 

InThe  larger  cities,  such  as  Jerusalem,  the  location  of  the 
principal  streets  is  indicated  by  marking  them  with  colon¬ 
nades,  and  the  facades  of  the  main  buildings  are  drawn  to 
show  the  general  aspect,  some  rounded  and  some  pointed. 

The  smaller  cities  are  drawn  in  silhouette,  with  their 
walls,  battlements  and  principal  gates.  Unfortunately, 
most  of  the  larger  cities  are  badly  damaged,  only  Jerusa¬ 
lem  remaining  in  its  entirety.  The  map  contains  the  names 
of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  ancient  places,  some  of 
which  are  new  to  history.  The  geographical  names  are 
all  written  above  their  cities,  and  some  explanatory  in¬ 
scriptions  are  given  below  them. 


In  the  Land  of  Moab 

i.  What  Travelers  Do.  2.  What  a  few  People  do.  3.  What  most 

of  the  People  are  Doing 


Madeba,  Moses,  and  the  Mosaic  Map  353 

One  of  the  merits  of  the  map,  unique  of  its  kind,  is  the 
wealth  of  explanations.  In  the  first  place  the  fragment 
embraces,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  territory  of  the  tribes  of 
Simeon,  Judah,  Dan,  Benjamin  and  Ephraim.  The  name 
of  each  tribe  is  inscribed  in  large  red  letters,  and  is  ac¬ 
companied  by  an  explanatory  text  taken  from  the  Bible. 
In  this  way  parts  of  Jacob’s  blessings  are  worked  into  the 
design,  as  Zebulon  has  Genesis  49:  13;  Ephraim,  Genesis 
49:  25,  and  parts  also  of  the  blessing  of  Moses.  Benjamin 
has  Deuteronomy  33:12  written  beneath  it,  and  Ephraim 
has  Deuteronomy  33 :  13.  These  inscriptions  will  no  doubt 
have  some  value  in  the  department  of  sacred  criticism  of 
the  Bible.  Other  explanations  are  taken  literally  from  the 
Onomasticon  of  Eusebius.  At  certain  points  of  the  map 
these  inscriptions  occupy  the  whole  of  the  surface,  interfer¬ 
ing  somewhat  with  its  clearness,  but  no  doubt  serving  an 
important  purpose  in  the  eyes  of  its  makers.  In  many 
cases  the  localities  are  designated  by  two  names,  the  ancient 
name  and  also  the  name  in  use  at  the  era  of  the  map.  The 
arms  of  the  Nile  have  their  names  written  either  in  the 
streams  themselves  or  by  the  sides  of  them. 

The  exact  date  of  the  map  is  a  question  which  will  no 
doubt  be  solved  satisfactorily,  but  from  the  form  of  the 
letters  it  certainly  seems  to  have  been  made  before  the 
beginning  of  the  sixth  century.  Among  the  places  pic¬ 
tured  is  the  Monastery  of  Saint  Sapsas,  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Jordan,  and  contemporaneous  documents  and  refer¬ 
ences  to  this  are  dated  494  to  518.  Hence  we  may  safely 
call  it  a  map  of  the  fifth  century  A.  D. 

As  to  the  origin  and  purpose  of  this  unique  map,  Mr. 
Clermont  Ganneau  (P.  E.  F.,  July,  1901)  suggests  that  it 
may  be  a  copy  of  the  “picture”  which  St.  Jerome  speaks  of 
as  being  found  in  his  Onomasticon.  Then,  lacking  further 
information,  he  calls  in  imagination  and  makes  a  brilliant 
suggestion,  which  by  its  peculiar  fitness  carries  almost  the 
weight  of  written  testimony.  “What,”  he  says,  “was  the 

23 


354 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


origin  of  this  extraordinary  work?  What  is  its  object? 
To  what  need  or  preconceived  notion  does  it  correspond? 
What  was  the  idea  of  fixing  thus  upon  the  pavement  of  the 
basilica  at  Madeba  a  representation  of  the  Holy  Land  as 
faithful  and  as  detailed  as  the  means  of  that  period  per¬ 
mitted. 

“What  it  is  necessary  to  consider  before  all  is  the  position 
of  Madeba.  I  am  struck  by  one  fact;  it  is  that  Madeba 
is  situated  close  to  Mount  Nebo;  it  was  in  the  Byzantine 
Period  the  most  important  town  which  stood  in  those 
regions,  where  the  great  memory  of  Moses  still  lingered. 
It  was  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  that  the  leader  of 
Israel  received  from  Jehovah  the  order  to  climb  the  summit 
of  Pisgah  where  he  was  to  die,  and  to  contemplate  in  one 
supreme  vision  in  all  its  extent  this  land  of  Canaan,  the 
Land  of  Promise,  which  was  to  belong  to  his  people,  but 
which  he  was  not  himself  allowed  to  enter.  (See  Genesis 
32:  41-52,  34:  1-8;  compare  Numbers  27: 12,  13.)  Might 
it  not  be,  perhaps,  this  geographical  picture  which  was 
virtually  unrolled  under  the  eyes  of  Moses,  that  it  was  in¬ 
tended  to  reproduce  in  the  mosaic  of  the  basilica  of  Madeba. 
That  is  to  say,  in  the  neighboring  town  to  this  memorable 
scene.  Why  should  they  not  have  had  the  idea  of  showing 
in  a  realistic  way  the  thing  itself  that  Moses  saw,  quite 
close  to,  if  not  at  the  place  itself,  where  he  saw  it?  Noth¬ 
ing  was  at  the  time  more  tempting  or  more  logical.” 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
NEBO 

The  modern  identification  of  Nebo  has  been  long  de¬ 
layed,  but  may  now  be  reckoned  as  complete.  The  data 
for  the  purpose  are  a  constantly  increasing  collection  of 
facts  resulting  from  a  more  careful  study  of  the  Bible 
narratives  in  the  light  of  explorations  of  the  vicinity, 
with  corroborative  and  explanatory  materials  from  other 
lands  and  sources. 

In  the  first  place,  Nebo  is  not  a  “mountain/’  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  that  word.  When  one  looks  from  Jeru¬ 
salem  or  the  highlands  of  Judea  eastward  beyond  the  Jor¬ 
dan,  nothing  in  the  shape  of  a  peak  or  mountain  breaks 
the  long  sky-line  of  the  Moab  plateau.  And  even  when  one 
journeys  from  the  east  or  south  over  that  plateau,  he  rises 
almost  insensibly  from  the  desert  until  he  gains  the  highest 
ridges,  from  which  he  catches  glimpses  of  the  highlands  of 
Judea,  without  so  much  as  a  suggestion  of  the  deep  valley 
of  the  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea  between.  But  a  few  miles 
beyond  the  ridges  the  plateau  breaks  up  into  promontories 
or  headlands  slightly  lower  than  itself,  which  extend  far 
out  into  the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  Dead  Sea  region,  afford¬ 
ing  superb  views  of  the  valley  and  sea  and  all  Western 
Palestine  beyond.  Between  the  dotted  line  representing 
sea-level  and  the  waving  line  of  Moab  plateau  is  an  eleva¬ 
tion  of  2000  feet,  and  between  the  dotted  line  and  the 
Dead  Sea  a  depression  of  1292  feet,  so  that  seen  from  Jericho 
or  the  Jordan  Valley  or  the  Dead  Sea,  rising  almost  sheer 
in  places  for  3000  feet,  these  are  really  mountains.  Seen 
from  above,  they  are  extensions  of  the  Moab  plateau. 

355 


3  56 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


The  name  “Nebo,”  found  only  twice  in  the  Scriptures 
(Deut.  32:  49,  34:  1)  as  referring  to  the  mountain,  is  now 
by  common  consent  connected  with  a  heathen  god  of  the 
Assyrians,  whose  worship  had  been  extended  into  this 
East-Jordan  land  before  the  coming  of  the  Children  of 
Israel.  Nebo,  with  Baal  and  Peor,  other  heathen  deities, 
all  had  altars  and  shrines  on  these  promontories,  reaching 
out  from  the  Moab  plateau  into  the  Jordan  Valley.  Now, 
these  names  were  lost  or  confused  many  centuries  ago, 
and  it  seemed  as  though  this  was  another  case  of  the  prov¬ 
idential  obliteration  of  the  name  and  exact  location  of  a 
much-sought  site ;  but  in  recent  years  the  very  name  itself, 
“Neba,”  has  been  found  clinging  to  a  knoll  on  the  prom¬ 
ontory  already  chosen  for  many  other  reasons  as  the  real 
“Mount  Nebo.” 

Five  miles  southwest  of  Heshbon,  and  less  than  that  dis¬ 
tance  northwest  of  Madeba,  the  ridge  or  promontory  identi¬ 
fied  as  Nebo  juts  from  the  plateau  with  a  width  of  more  than 
half  a  mile,  and  extends  fully  two  miles  westward  toward 
Jericho.  The  views  westward,  northward  and  southward 
are  superb.  Two  knolls  attract  one’s  gaze  and  invite  the 
seeker  to  their  summits.  The  eastern  one,  near  the  base 
of  the  promontory,  gives  a  backward  view  over  Moab,  and 
to  this  still  clings  the  name  “Neba.”  The  height  is  given 
as  2643  feet  above  the  Mediterranean,  that  is,  about  3500 
feet  above  the  Jordan  in  front  of  it.  The  western  one, 
more  than  a  mile  farther  out  and  perhaps  200  feet  lower, 
gives  the  finer  view  of  all  the  Jordan  Valley  and  the  land 
of  “Canaan”  beyond.  This  is,  no  doubt,  “Pisgah,”  as  seen 
from  the  valley  below. 

The  “two  views”  from  Nebo,  that  of  Balak  (Num.  23 :  14- 
16)  and  that  of  Moses  (Deut.  34:  1-4),  are  as  accurately 
described  as  any  modern  guide-book  could  describe  them. 
The  natural  features  are,  of  course,  absolutely  unchanged, 
except  in  the  names  and  unidentified  localities.  The 
“view”  has  been  the  charm  for  pilgrims  and  travellers  of 


Madeba — Greek  Church  covering  remains  of  famous  Mosaic  Map 


Nebo 


357 


all  past  ages,  as  curiously  evidenced  by  the  mosaic  map  in 
the  Madeba  church.  It  will  continue  to  delight  for  all 
time  to  come. 

NEBO  VIEW 

Not  by  any  means  does  one  obtain  the  finest  view  from 
the  highest  knoll  or  crest.  At.  least  three  levels  lead  out 
to  rounded  brows,  and  on  the  lowest  (2360  feet)  of  them  all, 
extending  like  a  balcony  out  from  the  mountain  side,  do  we 
find  the  spot  where  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  South  Country, 
“the  hills  and  mountains  of  Judea,  Jericho  and  the  whole 
Jordan  Valley,  northward,  as  the  gaze  swings  through  the 
panorama.”  While  backward  and  behind  one  gets  little 
but  the  higher  summit  of  Nebo,  which  cuts  off  the  sweep 
of  the  Moabite  horizon  from  Heshbon  eastward  and  south¬ 
ward. 

Two-thirds  of  the  Dead  Sea  stretches  its  azure  sheet 
southward,  and  through  a  break  in  the  western  mountains 
we  do  get  a  glimpse  into  the  hazy  depths  of  the  “South 
Country,”  just  beyond  which,  all  invisible,  lies  the  “Desert 
of  the  Wandering.”  Then  one  who  knows  the  map  of  the 
West- Jordan  country  easily  marks  the  line  where  the  hill 
country  of  Judah  lifts  its  darker,  greener  mass  this  side  the 
wilderness,  and  as  the  nearer  features  more  clearly  distin¬ 
guish  themselves,  can  pick  out  the  hills  overlooking  Hebron 
and  the  never- to-be-mis  taken  flat  crest  of  the  Frank 
Mountain.  Beyond  that  the  eye  rests  fondly  on  little 
Bethlehem,  sitting  on  the  upper  edge  of  its  amphitheater  in 
the  hill  side,  its  terraced  gardens  and  mass  of  green  bring¬ 
ing  pleasure  to  the  eye  wearied  with  the  awful  desolation 
and  grandeur  of  the  slopes  and  mountains  encircling  the 
Dead  Sea. 

Bright  spots  of  dwellings  dot  the  upper  range  between 
Bethlehem  and  the  Holy  City,  among  them  Beit  Jala  and 
the  Monastery  of  Mar  Elias.  Then  with  no  background 
but  the  white  sky  the  spires  of  Jerusalem  stand  out  plainer 
than  ever  with  the  Russian  bell- tower  above  them  all.  One 


358 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


of  the  minarets  marks  the  mosque  of  the  Tomb  of  David  on 
Mount  Zion,  around  which  cluster  the  Dome  of  the  Rock 
and  all  the  other  famous  sights  of  the  city.  Farther  north, 
hills  blend  in  blueness  that  lie  not  far  from  Nazareth  and 
look  down  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Yonder  is  “this  moun¬ 
tain”  that  our  Lord  glanced  up  to  from  Jacob’s  Well,  where 
he  taught  the  Samaritan  woman  and  the  world,  the  lesson 
of  worshipping  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  Between 
us  and  the  western  hills  winds  the  Jordan  of  His  baptism, 
and,  unconsciously,  the  view  that  Moses  saw  melts  for  us 
into  the  land  of  that  “greater  than  Moses,”  because  per¬ 
haps  from  no  other  point  can  so  many  of  the  footsteps  of 
the  Master  be  traced,  or  so  many  scenes  of  His  life  be 
brought  together,  as  in  a  single  picture — Bethlehem,  the 
Jordan,  Jerusalem  and  the  Mount  of  Olives  carry  us  from 
His  cradle  to  His  throne.  And  there  on  that  same  Mount 
of  Olives  is  where  Russia,  Austria,  Germany  and  other 
Christian  nations  of  the  West  are  still  striving  for  the 
possession  of  the  Promised  Land,  while  the  real  owners, 
Moses’  own  people,  of  whom  and  for  whom  Christ  came  and 
died,  are  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  Bible  itinerary  (Num.  21:18-20,  33:44-47)  men¬ 
tions  five  encampments  between  the  east  and  west  bound¬ 
aries  of  Moab.  It  is  the  last  two  of  this  series  which  are  the 
important  ones  for  us.  Numbers  33 : 47  says  they  “en¬ 
camped  in  the  mountains  of  Abarim,  before  Nebo,”  and 
21:  20  says  they  journeyed  “from  Bamoth  to  the  valley 
that  is  in  the  field  of  Moab  to  the  top  of  Pisgah,  which 
looketh  down  upon  the  desert”  (or  Jeshimon).  Now, 
scholars  have  noted  the  infelicity  of  the  translation  of  the 
latter  verse:  “to  the  valley  ...  to  the  top  of  Pisgah,” 
and  have  given  as  more  correct  (G.  A.  Smith),  “to  the  glen 
that  is  in  the  field  of  Moab  by  the  headland  of  Pisgah, 
which  looketh  out  on  Jeshimon.”  Just  “before  Nebo,” 
that  is,  to  the  north ,  for  the  Children  of  Israel  are  journeying 
from  the  south,  and  in  “the  valley,”  or  “glen,”  down  which 


Madeba — Remains  of  the  famous  Mosaic  Map 


Nebo 


359 


the  roads  to  the  Jordan  have  run  from  all  antiquity  to  the 
present  day,  are  the  well-known  fountains,  still  called  the 
“Fountains  of  Moses.”  This  was  where  they  must  have 
halted,  and  not  on  the  “top  of  Pisgah.”  One  more  jour¬ 
ney  and  they  “encamped  in  the  plains  of  Moab  by  the 
Jordan  at  Jericho.”  This  makes  every  Bible  reference  to 
the  “mountain”  perfectly  plain,  and,  with  our  most  recent 
knowledge  of  the  locality,  settles  the  question  forever. 

Alas,  the  vicissitudes  of  time !  Nebo  stands  changeless  as 
it  was  when  Moses  climbed  its  famous  headland,  and  is 
to-day  as  inseparably  connected  with  his  name  as  it  has 
been  for  more  than  thirty  centuries,  but  its  exact  location 
was  lost  to  Christian  view  for  at  least  twelve  centuries. 
Madeba,  a  city  under  its  changeless  name  in  the  earliest 
notices  of  Moab,  existed  through  two  thousand  years  of 
Moabite,  Maccabee  and  Christian  history,  was  sacked  and 
destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  destructive  march  of  Chosroes, 
the  Persian,  early  in  the  seventh  century,  and  disappeared 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  For  over  twelve  hundred 
years  it  has  lain  undisturbed,  uninhabited,  in  the  desola¬ 
tion  of  Moab.  Only  yesterday  (1880)  was  it  reoccupied 
and  dug  up  from  the  dust  of  ages,  to  yield,  among  other 
treasures,  this  unique  monument  to  the  memory  of  Moses. 
Of  all  the  nationalities  and  religions  that  have  contended 
for  the  mastery  of  the  plateau,  only  the  Jewish,  the 
Christian  and  the  Moslem  remain.  But  all  three  revere 
the  memory  of  Moses,  and  every  pilgrim  of  the  future 
centuries — Jew,  Christian  and  Moslem — visiting  the  land 
of  Moab,  to  stand  again  in  fancy  with  Moses  on  Nebo’s 
brow,  will  gladly  journey  from  map  to  mountain,  and  link 
the  present  to  the  remoter  past  through  this  Christian 
tribute  to  his  memory. 

Moses  on  Nebo  thus  becomes  one  of  the  colossal  figures 
of  human  history.  The  man  and  the  mount  seem  lifted 
out  of  space  and  time  into  the  realm  of  thought,  where  they 
constitute,  like  Psalm  51,  one  of  the  shrines  of  the  human 


360 


From  the  Nile  to  Nebo 


soul.  A  life  of  matchless  service,  one  sin  remembered,  a 
distant  view  of  what  might  have  been,  a  lonely  death,  an 
unknown  grave  and  heaven. 

THE  BURIAL  OF  MOSES 

By  Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander 

By  Nebo’s  lonely  mountain, 

On  this  side  Jordan’s  wave, 

In  a  vale  in  the  land  of  Moab 
There  lies  a  lonely  grave, 

And  no  man  knows  that  sepulcher, 

And  no  man  saw  it  e’er; 

For  the  angels  of  God  upturned  the  sod, 

And  laid  the  dead  man  there. 

That  was  the  grandest  funeral 
That  ever  passed  on  earth; 

But  no  man  heard  the  trampling, 

Or  saw  the  train  go  forth — 

Noiselessly  as  the  daylight 

Comes  back  when  night  is  done, 

And  the  crimson  streaks  on  ocean’s  cheek 
Grows  into  the  great  sun. 

Noiselessly  as  the  springtime 
Her  crown  of  verdure  weaves, 

And  all  the  trees  on  all  the  hills 
Open  their  thousand  leaves; 

So  without  sound  of  music, 

Or  the  voice  of  them  that  wept, 

Silently  down  from  the  mountain’s  crown 
The  great  procession  swept. 

Perchance  the  bald  old  eagle 
On  gray  Beth-Peor’s  height, 

Out  of  his  lonely  eyrie 

Looked  on  the  wondrous  sight; 

Perchance  the  lion  stalking 
Still  shuns  that  hallowed  spot, 

For  beast  and  bird  have  seen  and  heard 
That  which  man  knoweth  not. 

But  when  the  warrior  dieth, 

His  comrades  in  the  war, 

With  arms  reversed  and  muffled  drum, 

Follow  his  funeral  car; 

They  show  the  banners  taken, 

They  tell  his  battles  won, 

And  after  him  lead  his  masterless  steed, 

While  peals  the  minute  gun. 


■**''*£: 


Jerusalem  Camp — (i)  A  welcome  visitor.  (2)  Letters  from  home 


Nebo 


361 


Amid  the  noblest  of  the  land 
We  lay  the  sage  to  rest, 

And  give  the  bard  an  honored  place, 

With  costly  marble  drest, 

In  the  great  minster  transept 
Where  lights  like  glories  fall, 

And  the  organ  rings,  and  the  sweet  choir  sings 
Along  the  emblazoned  wall. 

This  was  the  truest  warrior 
That  ever  buckled  sword, 

This  the  most  gifted  poet 
That  ever  breathed  a  word; 

And  never  earth’s  philosopher 
Traced  with  his  golden  pen, 

On  the  deathless  page,  truths  half  so  sage 
As  he  wrote  down  for  men. 

And  had  he  not  high  honor — 

The  hillside  for  a  pall, 

To  lie  in  state  while  angels  wait 
With  stars  for  tapers  tall, 

And  the  dark  rock  pines,  like  tossing  plumes, 
Over  his  bier  to  wave, 

And  God’s  own  hand  in  that  lonely  land, 

To  lay  him  in  the  grave? 

In  that  strange  grave  without  a  name, 

Whence  his  uncoffined  clay 
Shall  break  again,  O  wondrous  thought! 

Before  the  Judgment  Day, 

And  stand  with  glory  wrapt  around 
On  the  hills  he  never  trod, 

And  speak  of  the  strife  that  won  our  life, 

With  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God. 

O  lonely  grave  in  Moab’s  land ! 

O  dark  Beth-Peor’s  hill! 

Speak  to  these  curious  hearts  of  ours, 

And  teach  them  to  be  still. 

God  hath  His  mysteries  of  grace, 

Ways  that  we  cannot  tell; 

He  hides  them  deep,  like  the  hidden  sleep 
Of  him  he  loved  so  well. 


at 


APPENDIX  I 


DESERT  TEMPERATURES,  FEBRUARY  18  TO  MARCH  U,  J909 


Date. 

T  emperature. 

Place. 

Level. 

Feb. 

18 

59°  F. 

Wells  of  Moses . 

. Sea-level. 

44 

i9 

520  F. 

44 

44 

a 

20 

53°  F. 

Wady  Sudr . 

44 

u 

21 

53°  F. 

Elim . 

.  500  feet. 

i  i 

22 

Tent  blown  down . 

44 

u 

23 

5i°  F. 

44 

u 

24 

45°  F. 

Nubk  ul  Budra . 

.  951  “ 

u 

25 

45°  F. 

Feiran . 

. 1017  “ 

44 

26 

420  F. 

44 

. 2050  “ 

44 

27 

46°  F. 

Sinai . 

. 5265  “ 

44 

28 

45°  F. 

44 

. CT8234  “ 

March 

1 

37°  F. 

44 

. 713°  “ 

44 

2 

34°  F. 

44 

. 4888  “ 

44 

3 

46°  F. 

Wady  es  Saal . 

. 4281  “ 

44 

4 

52°  F. 

Wady  es  Shukaa . 

. 2813  “ 

44 

5 

62°  F. 

Wady  el  Ain . 

.  754  “ 

44 

6 

63°  F. 

Jebel  Aswal . 

44 

7 

6i°  F. 

44 

44 

44 

8 

49°  F. 

Akaba . 

44 

44 

9 

49°  F. 

44 

44 

44 

10 

43°  F. 

Abu  Jiddeh . 

. 1591  feet. 

44 

11 

420  F. 

Guwairah . 

. 2952  “ 

363 


APPENDIX  II 


INDEX  OF  BIBLE  TEXTS 


GENESIS 


TEXT 

5^ . 

14 . 

15:  13 . 

16:7 . 

I9:i . 

24:60 . 

28:  10-22 . 

28:12 . 

3^45 . 

32:22 . 

PAGE 

.  260 

.  29 

.  26l 

.  l62 

.  175 

.  130 

.  131 

.  131 

.  17 

32:41-52 . 

.  354 

34:1-8 . 

. 354 

35^4 . 

.  131 

4i:i . 

.  i7 

41 : 41-43 . 

.  82 

4i:45,5o . 

.  83 

48:22 . 

.  82 

49:13,25 . 

. 353 

TEXT 

PAGE 

l6:7 . 

16:13 . 

l6:i4 . 

16:36 . 

I7:i . 

. 92,  no,  145 

17:1-7 . 

.  147 

I7:8-l6 . 

.  147 

I7:i4 . 

19 . 

.  214 

I9:i,2 . 

.  92 

20:  2-17 . 

.  231 

20:  25 . 

.  131 

21-23  . 

.  231 

24:7 . 

.  228 

3i:2 . 

.  249 

32:20 . 

32:22 . 

.  240 

33:H . 

.  17 

38:26 . 

.  164 

EXODUS 


i:i8 . 

.  214 

i :  8-12, 15-21 . 

.  164 

1 : 11 . 

.  96 

2:11-14 . 

.  258 

4:  25 . 

.  122 

10:9 . 

.  273 

12:37 . 

.92,  98, 164, 166, 182 

12:40 . 

. 29,81 

13:17 . 

.  261 

13: 20 . 

.  98 

14:7 . 

.  169 

14:9,  i5 . 

.  92 

14: 20-22 . 

15:15 . 

.  346 

15:22,  23,  27.  . 

.  92 

15: 23-25 . 

.  69 

15:27 . 

. 17,  7i,  73 

15:31 . 

.  112 

16 . 

.  hi 

16:1 . 

. 92,  no 

LEVITICUS 

i-7 . 

8-10 . 

8:  2,  26,31 . 

9:4 . 

10:12 . 

11-16 . 

17-27 . 


NUMBERS 


1:4. • • . 

1:16... 
1:18. . . 
1 : 20, 24 
1 : 45 •  •  • 
1:46... 
2:32. . . 

3 . 

3:12... 


364 


257 

257 

112 

112 


112 

257 

257 


164, 177 
•••  I7S 
173, 175 
...  182 

...  183 
....  184 
164,  183 
164,' 182 
165, 183 
. . .  169 


Appendix 


TEXT  PAGE 

3^7 .  177 

3:22 .  185 

3^9 .  185 

3^3 . l6S,l69,  185 

4 . 165,  183 

5:23 .  228 

7:i3 .  112 

10-25 .  257 

10:10-36:13 .  214 

10:11 .  92 

11:3 .  284 

n:3,34,3S . 92,  259 

11:7,8 .  112 

11:31 .  108 

11:31-35 .  273 

11:35-12:16 .  279 

12:16 .  92 

13 .  267 

13:20,21 .  93 

14:4 .  267 

14:33 .  266 

16 .  267 

20 .  267 

20:1,8 .  267 

20:23 .  340 

21:1,22 .  93 

21- 36 .  347 

21:3, 10, 11, 12, 14-19 . 

93,346, 347,358 

21:14 .  228 

21:20 .  358 

21:25,32,33 .  93 

21:33 .  IS 

22:4 .  85 

22- 24 .  347 

23:14-16 .  356 

25  .  347 

25:1 .  93 

25:14 .  182 

26  . 164, 165,177,  257,347 

26:51 . 164, 183 

27  .  347 

27: 12,  13 .  354 

32  .  347 

32:3,35,37 .  93 

32:26,42 .  93 

33  . 128,  257,  258,  279,  284 

33:5 .  92 

33:10 .  92 

33: 12, 13 . 92,93, 128, 145 

33:18,  26,  30,  34,35 .  259 

33:16-35 . 92,  292 

33:37 .  93 


TEXT  PAGE 

33:41-42 . 93,  346 

33:44-47 .  358 

33:46 .  93 

33:47 .  93 

33:49,50 .  9  3 

35:10-34 .  347 

DEUTERONOMY 

i-4 .  257 

1:1 . 93,346 

1:46 .  93 

2:1,14 .  93 

2:6 .  112 

2:8,  26,32 . 93,345 

3:4,8,9,10,16 .  93 

4:43 .  93 

4:46,48 .  93 

7:24 .  131 

9:21 .  162 

10:6,7 .  93 

11:4-8,12 .  341 

27 .  257 

27:5 .  131 

29-34 .  257 

32:10 .  154 

32:49 .  356 

33:12,13 .  353 

34:i .  356 

34:i-4 .  356 

34:6 .  17 


3:14. •• • 

4 . 

4: 19.  •  •  • 

5:6 . 

5:12.... 

8:31,32. 

10: 1-11 . 
10: 13.  .  . 
13:9, 17- 
13:26,  27 

13:31- • • 

14:10... 
18:19... 
24:7.... 
24: 26, 27 

24:31  •  -  - 


JOSHUA 

.  93 

.  131 

.  93 

.  79 

.  112 

.  131 

.  85 

.  228 

. 93,346 

.  93 

.  93 

.  79 

.  228 

.  93 

. 131,  228,  231 

.  79 


JUDGES 


1:17 .  93 

1:21 .  85 


366 


Appendix 


TEXT 

3:8-15: 
6:15... 
ii : 16 .  . 

20 . 

PAGE 

.  79 

.  173 

.  93 

4:18.  .  . 
6:19... 
7:12... 
10:19.  . 
23:23.. 

I  SAMUEL 

.  79 

.  188 

.  131 

•173, 175 
.  173 

8:14... 

II  SAMUEL 

. 34i 

6:11... 
8:31 .  .  . 
11:17.. 
22:3.  .  . 

23:17- • 

I  KINGS 

.29, 78, 79 

.  13 1 

.  337 

.  93 

.  13 1 

3 . 

22:8. . . 

23:13- • 

II  KINGS 

.  3ii 

.  229 

.  337 

TEXT 

2:55-  • 

I  CHRONICLES 

PAGE 

.  96 

25:  II  . 

34: i5- 

II  CHRONICLES 

-  341 
.  229 

19 . 

5i . 

PSALMS 

•  333 

•  359 

15:7- • 

ISAIAH 

-  346 

48 . 

JEREMIAH 

•  348 

39:12. 

EZEKIEL 

•  131 

6:14. . 

AMOS 

-  346 

5:1... 

MICAH 

-  173 

INDEX 


Aamu,  Sinai  miners,  123,  124;  Syrians,  pos¬ 
sibly  Amorites,  82. 

Aaron,  as  High  Priest,  170;  at  Hazeroth,  279; 
death  of,  259,  345;  Mount  Hor,  23;  tomb 
of,  343- 

Aaron’s  Hill,  description  of,  269,  270. 

Abarim,  358. 

Abbas  Pasha,  chateau  of,  240,  242;  date  as 
Khedive,  289. 

Abd  ul  Hamid,  Mecca  Railway,  324. 

Aboda,  43. 

Abraham,  ignorant  Bedawin,  76,  191;  Jesus 
Christ  son  of,  348;  locomotion,  time  of,  75; 
period  of,  42,  76,  137,  243,  336. 

Abu  Jiddeh,  Arab  burying  ground  near,  254; 
camp  near  Akaba,  315,  318. 

Abu  Shebib,  Sheikh,  tomb  of,  159. 

Abu  Suweirah,  fountain  at,  67. 

Abul  Lisan,  our  route,  254. 

Abydos,  inscriptions,  31,  82,  250;  temple  of, 
250. 

Adam,  book  of,  228;  good  Moslem,  216. 

Adwan  Arabs,  at  Madeba,  349. 

Africa,  caravans  from,  at  Petra,  331;  natives 
of,  embrace  Islam,  219;  position  of  Sinai, 
36,  43,  44,  50;  quails  in  north, ,  107 

Africanus,  Julius,  Manetho’s  writings,  32. 

Agade,  chief  city  of  Naram-Sin,  41. 

Ahsa,  depression  of,  24,  25. 

Ailah.  See  Elath. 

Ain  Abu  Horon.  See  Ain  Haldi. 

Ain  Abul-Lisan,  our  route,  321. 

Ain  Haldi,  our  route,  254,  317,  320. 

Ain  Hudherah.  See  Hazeroth. 

Ain  Kadis,  elevation,  24;  distance  from 
Kadesh  Barnea,'2ss;  identity  with  Kadesh, 
23,  263,  264,  280. 

Ajlun,  Circassians  at  Amman  in,  3x0. 

Akaba,  blackmail  of  Arabs  at,  300,  301,  303, 
305,  320,  342;  boundary  of  Sinai  and 
Egypt,  43,  289,  295,  298;  description  of, 
313,  314,  319;  guard  of  Turkish  soldiers, 
301;  gulf  of,  94,  158;  200,  240,  248,  261, 
272,  273,  292,  293,  294,  295,  299, 318, 327; 
imaginary  location  of  Sinai  east  of, 
94;  modern  pilgrimage  route,  43,  287,  289; 
our  barometers  at,  318;  our  food  list  at, 
65,  66;  pearl  fishers  at,  296;  Robinson  at, 
276;  Roman  wall  at,  290,314,315;  route, 
17,  18,  22,  25,  49,  64,  94,  151,  243,  254, 
258,  268,  283,  288,  289,  298,  299,  300, 
305,  316,318;  telegraph  system,  16;  troops 
at,  211,  289,  291;  Turkish  government, 
311,  319;  water  barrels  sold  in,  315. 

Alexander,  era  of,  28. 

Alexander  II.,  purchase  of  Codex  Sinaiticus, 

311. 


Alexandria,  body  of  St.  Katharine  carried  to, 
207;  bombardment  of,  289;  railway,  53. 

Alush,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  145. 

Amalek  (or  Amalekites),  route  of  C.  of  I., 
145,  147.  148,  149.  152. 

Amarna,  Tel-el,  date  of  tablets,  84;  tablets, 
40,  84,  85,  86,  213. 

Amenhotep,  Amarna  letters  written  time 
of,  84;  dating  from,  35;  time  of  Exodus,  84; 
tomb  of,  139. 

Amen-Ra,  God  of  temple  at  Deir  el  Bahari, 

139. 

Amman,  our  route,  16,  22;  Circassians  at, 
310- 

Ammonites,  Palestine  invaded  by,  38;  Mil- 
com  god  of,  337. 

Amorites,  Amarna  letters,  84;  Sikima  land 
of,  82,  265;  Sihon  king  of,  347. 

Amos,  documents  in  time  of,  230;  prophecy 
against  Edom,  342. 

Antioch,  era  of,  28. 

“Appian  Way”  of  Petra,  334. 

Arab,  Arabs,  attacks,  21 1;  at  Akaba,  289, 
300,  342;  at  Petra,  333,  344;  Bedawin,  66, 
70,  72,  268;  cameleers,  56,  206,  269,  270; 
can  be  Syrian,  Moslem,  etc.,  95,  96;  collect 
manna,  112;  divided  into  great  tribes,  96, 
173,  256,  289,  290,  309,  324,  349;  dugong 
or  porpoise,  248;  encampments,  191,  192, 
203,  252,  255,  322;  expeditions  against,  290, 
302,  308,  311,  319;  game  of  Sigah,  104; 
guides,  300,  316;  knowledge  of  distances, 
283;  knowledge  of  names  in  districts,  115, 
272,  288;  livelihood  of,  327;  patron  saints 
of,  no,  270;  punishment  of  Arabs,  264; 
Towarah,  271;  traditions,  146,  272,  273, 
314;  travellers  and,  148,  149,  161;  under 
Turkish  government,  310. 

Arab  Emirs,  correspond  to  “dukes  of  Edom,” 
346- 

Arabah,  Arabs  of  342;  ancient  road,  261; 
border  of  Edom,  340,  345;  geological  form¬ 
ation  of,  278,  321;  guides  sent  west  across, 
316;  routes,  17,  314>i339»  34i.  345- 

Arabia,  coast  of,  in  relation  to  canal,  52; 
desert  of,  66,  107,  149,  329;  materials  for 
Tabernacle  not  from  Arabia,  247;  monastic 
movement  in,  157;  mountains  of,  298,  342; 
pilgrimage  into  center  of,  327;  plants  of, 
1x2;  quails  in,  107;  route  of  Exodus,  25, 
43;  route  from  Petra,  144,  151,  158,  329; 
Semites  from,  39;  Semitic  ritual  of,  117; 
Springs  of  Moses  on  coast  of,  50;  tribes  of, 
324;  Turkish  government  in,  324;  Turkish 
troops  in,  290. 

Arabian  fortress  on  Pharaoh’s  island,  295; 
“nome,”  138. 


367 


Index 


368 


Arabian  Nights  like  opening  of  Suer  Canal, 
54*. 

Arabic  Bible,  11,  12,  243;  gum  Arabic,  248; 
inscriptions  at  Sinai,  144;  language,  11, 
136,  137.  i74.  2x1,  233,  237,  263,  267,  202; 
MSS.  at  Sinai  Library,  212;  names  of 
places,  265,  279;  pottery,  59;  race  in  his¬ 
tory,  37,  38,  39,  40;  rulers  in  Egypt,  40; 
word  “Elf,”  175;  word  “haraba,”  138; 
word  “el  Masadd,”  314;  word  “tahash,” 
248;  word  “wander,”  273. 

Arabi  Pasha,  rebellion  of,  242,  262. 

Arameans,  a  part  of  Semites,  38. 

Armenians,  race,  39. 

Arnon,  depth  of,  24,  25,  346;  modern  Mujib, 
346;  route,  18,  260. 

Asa,  high  places  of,  337;  documents,  230, 

Ashcaroth  (Ishtar),  horned  Semitic  goddess, 
132,  337- 

Ashur-Bani-Pal’s  library  at  Nineveh,  41. 

Asia,  Amarna  tablets  in  relation  to,  84;  mi¬ 
grations  from  and  to,  50;  position  of  Sinai 
in  relation  to,  36,  44. 

Asia  Minor,  Circassian  tribes  from,  309,  3x0. 

Asiatic  serf  labor,  83. 

Assa,  papyrus  of,  76. 

Assyria,  correspondence  with  Egypt,  29,  84; 
dates,  77,  78;  inscriptions,  77. 

Assyrians,  Nebo  connected  with  god  of,  356. 

Assyriologists,  Amarna  tablets,  85. 

Auchincloss,  W.  S.,  chronology  of,  79,  80; 
to  Canaan  in  one  year,  22,  23;  Israel’s 
itinerary  by,  92,  93,  94,  258,  259. 

Austria,  military  strength,  184;  on  Mount 
of  Olives,  358. 


Baal,  shrines  near  Nebo,  356. 

Babylon,  chronology,  30,  31,  77;  civilization 
of,  29,  39  74;  conquest  of  Naram-sin,  29, 
41;  correspondence  of,  40,  84;  Hammurabi 
dynasty,  38;  history  of,  28,  30,  31;  inscrip¬ 
tions,  76,  213;  knowledge  of  Sinai,  42,  90; 
no  collision  between  Egypt  and,  41;  Semi¬ 
tic  immigration,  38. 

Babylonian  language,  233. 

Bagdad  (Baghdad),  dromedary  post,  43; 
railway,  325. 

Balaam  cursing  Israel,  347. 

Balak,  king  of  Moab,  85,  347;  on  Amarna 
tablets,  85;  view  from  Nebo,  356. 

“Baltic,”  rescue  of  passengers  from  “Repub¬ 
lic”  and  “Florida,”  47. 

Bamoth,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  346,  358. 

Bani-Saad,  noted  Arab  tribe,  96. 

Bani-Sekhr,  noted  Arab  tribe,  96. 

Barnabas,  MSS.  of  Epistle  of,  212, 

Bawit  (Egypt),  monastery  at,  28. 

Bedawin  Arabs,  use  for  names  of  places,  66; 
collect  manna,  160;  honesty,  276;  huts, 
155,  161;  in  rock  sculpture,  125,  142; 
miners,  117,  119,  120  (Retemmu),  124, 
126,  127;  need  of  water,  284;  not  taxed  by 
Egypt,  161;  number  of ,  in  Sinai,  45;  offer¬ 
ings  at  shrines,  271;  race  in  Egypt,  39;  race 
influence  on  Hebrews,  39;  roving  in  Sinai, 
157.  33°'»  Shucair’s  acquaintance  with, 
48;  sight  of,  67;  soldiery,  300;  tradition 
of  Abbas  Pasha,  241,  242;  travellers,  263, 
342;  tribes,  149,  261,  263,  310,  311,  322, 
342;  unrest  among,  314,  327;  workmen  in 
Sinai,  156. 


Bedawy,  at  Hazeroth,  282;  legend,  105; 
may  be  Arab,  Syrian,  etc.,  9s,  96;  presents 
to,  295;  quails,  108;  symbol  of  Sinai,  90, 
97,  102. 

Beer,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  346. 

Beersheba,  ancient  route  near,  43,  137,  150; 
home  of  our  guides,  316^322; Jacob  at,  130; 
travellers  in,  316. 

Beit  Jala,  seen  from  Nebo,  357. 

Belka,  Circassians  at,  310. 

Benihassan,  visit  of  Palestine  people  to,  81. 

Benjamin,  family  of,  173;  on  Madeba  map, 
35 3- 

Berlin,  to  Mecca  by  rail,  325. 

Bethel,  meaning  of  word,  131;  pillar  at,  131; 
stones  (Serabit),  130,  132,  137,  138. 

Bethlehem,  associated  with  life  of  Christ, 
15,  204,  358;  Ephrate  (families)  thousands 
of  Judah,  173;  pearl  industry  of,  293;  seen 
from  Nebo,  357,  358. 

Bethshemesh,  instance  of  clans  (thousands), 
188. 

Bezaleel,  art  work  of  tabernacle,  249. 

Bible,  attack  of  Habiri  on  Jerusalem,  85; 
chronology  of,  20,  74,  77,  79,  80,  83;  clues 
to  numbers  of  C.  of  I.,  171,  182,  186; 
funeral  of  Jacob,  82;  flint  knives  of,  122; 
Hebrew  words  translated  “wander,”  92; 
history  before  and  after  the  Exodus,  137; 
ideas  read  into,  221,  222;  limits  set  by,  232; 
Madeba  map,  353;  manna,  111,112;  mean¬ 
ing  of  word  “Alaf,”  173;  narrative,  224, 
227,  229,  234,  250,  35s ;  numbers  writ¬ 
ten  in  words,  176, 180, 188;  number  of  mid¬ 
wives  for  C.  of  I.,  169;  palm  trees  of  Elim, 
161;  quails,  106;  record  of  route,  94,  99, 
115,  190,  258, 358;  reference  to  high  places, 
336;  reference  to  Marah,  70;  revision  of 
ideas,  88,  91,  108,  163,  168;  statement  of 
caravans  visiting  Egypt,  81;  statement  of 
Moses’  stay  at  Sinai,  91;  texts  from,  on 
Madeba  map,  353;  sacred  stones,  131; 
usage  of  Sinai  and  Horeb,  145;  writer’s 
knowledge  of  Bible  lands,  235. 

Biblical  archaeology,  81;  arguments,  166; 
knowledge,  257;  phrase  “Law  and  Proph¬ 
ets,”  227;  problems,  264;  records  and 
double  Exodus,  88;  records,  146,  149,  152, 
177.  213,  215,  216,  232,  236;  references,  260, 
359;  Sinai  not  outside  civilization,  90,  117 , 
190;  sites,  262;  students  and  Petra,  336. 

Binns,  “Jack,”  wireless  messages,  47. 

Bir  Suweis,  well  at  Suez,  50. 

Bitter  Lakes,  Suez  Canal  through,  54,  99. 

Boghaz-Koi,  inscription  found  at,  85;  old 
capital  of  Hittites,  85. 

Borckh,  Egyptian  dates,  33. 

Boulac  Museum,  inscriptions  from  Mag- 
hareh,  49. 

Breasted,  chronology,  78. 

Brindisi,  mail  train  to,  48;  preparations  be¬ 
fore  leaving,  301. 

British,  friends  in  Egypt,  243,  and  Arabi 
Pasha,  242;  government  and  boundary, 
21 1,  290,  298,  300;  remains  of  Palmer  and 
Hill,  263;  map  of  Sinai  issued  by,  264; 
officers  survey  for  Suez  Canal,  53;  share 
in  Suez  Canal,  54. 

British  Museum,  Macdonald’s  squeezes,  126. 

Bronze  age,  date  of,  75,  76. 

Burckhardt,  ascent  of  Mt.  Hor,  342;  de¬ 
scription  of  Sinai,  150,  336;  discovery 


Index 


369 


of  Petra,  330;  mentions  Jebel  Sherafeb, 
295-  .  . 

Burning  bush,  chapel  of,  at  Sinai,  207. 
Buswerah,  route,  294. 

Byzantine  Christian,  at  Madeba,  349,  354; 
exploitation  of  holy  places,  206. 


CiESAR  Augustus,  era  of,  29. 

Cairo,  Abbas  Pasha’s  return  to,  241 ;  Bishop 
of,  205;  Minister  of  Public  Works,  127; 
pyramids  near,  42;  railway,  53. 

Camels,  cameleers,  contract  for,  49,  64; 
death  of  Arabs’,  276;  incidents  en  route, 
107,  155,  159;  patrols  in  Sinai,  290;  pil¬ 
grimage,  67;  route,  17,  56,  59,  64,  245,  291, 
295,  302,  312;  sandals,  248;  symbol  of 
Sinai,  90,  97;  use  of  flint  and  steel,  75. 

Canaan,  burial  of  Israel  in,  82;  date  of  con¬ 
quest,  80,  81;  end  of  route,  168,  267,  354, 
356;  end  of  manna  supply,  112;  time  neces¬ 
sary  to  reach,  91, 

Canaanites,  intention  of  C.  of  I.  to  attack, 
258;  mentioned  on  stele  of  Merneptah,  87; 
religious  influence  on  Israelites,  336. 

Cappadocia,  Boghaz-koi,  capital  of,  85. 

Carmel  Elijah  on,  131;  Mecca  railway, 
16. 

Censorius,  Egyptian  dead  reckoning,  34. 

Chalcedon,  Council  of,  Bishop  of  Feiran  at, 
157- 

Chaldea,  era  of,  28. 

Chatillon,  Rainald  of,  besieged  Pharaoh’s 
island,  296. 

Chedorlaomer,  Kadesh  Bamea,  261;  Mount 
Seir,  340. 

Chemosh,  god  of  Moabites,  337. 

China,  era  of,  28. 

Christ  came  to  Moses’  people,  358;  divine- 
human  nature  of,  217;  good  Moslem,  216; 
life  of,  227. 

Christian,  church  and  meaning  of  word 
“day,”  165;  civilization,  209,  243,  282, 
283;  era,  28,  29,  33,  39,  54,  58,  74,  144, 
158,  194,  234;  history,  197,  216,  244,  351, 
359;  hymns,  2x7;  in  Turkish  empire,  326; 
monastery  on  El  Muharrad,  156;  name 
lists,  260;  nations,  246,  358;  numbers  of 
C.  of  I.,  165,  171;  ruins,  329,  349;  tradi¬ 
tions,  209;  travellers,  263,  298;  world’s 
knowledge  of  Sinai,  42;  writers  and  word 
“alaf,”  176. 

Christianity,  evangelical,  244;  monastic 
conception  of,  157;  savage  tribes  and,  219. 

Christians,  colony  of,  at  Madeba,  349;  gate 
at  Hazeroth,  283;  have  fought  for  Mos¬ 
lem  shrines,  343;  have  preserved  i Jewish 
shrines,  246. 

Chronology,  Babylonian,  29-31;  Bible,  20, 
77,  78;  Censorius,  34;  Egyptian,  27,  28,  32; 
Exodus,  35 ;  Old  Testament,  29,  74;  Sinai, 
42. 

Circassian,  Governor  of  Kerak  a,  305;  tribes, 
309,  310, 

Cleopas  (Father),  librarian  of  Greek  Patri¬ 
archate.  351. 

Codex  Sinaiticus,  in  Sinai  Library,  211. 

Codex  Vaticanus,  compared  to  Codex  Sina¬ 
iticus,  212. 

Commandments,  giving  of,  45. 

Constantinople,  era  of,  28. 

Copper  age,  date  of,  76. 

24 


Coptic,  traditions  re  Sinai.  194;  inscriptions 
at,  143,  144. 

Coral  Cove  Camp,  our  route,  254,  294,  295. 
Cosmas,  story  of  Sinai  inscriptions,  143. 
Covenant,  announcement  of,  45. 

Crusaders,  castle  at  Kerak,  311;  rebuilt 
Kerak,  311;  ruins  near  Jordan,  329;  spirit 
of,  165. 

Curtis,  on  High  Places,  Petra,  336. 

Cushite,  wife  of  Moses,  279. 

Cyprus,  Plain  of,  on  Jebel  Musa,  239. 


Damascus,  army  sent  to  Kerak,  31 1;  Con¬ 
sular  Agent  at,  305;  desert  east  of,  66,95; 
dromedary  post,  43;  end  of  journey,  64; 
Kilawun’s  conquests,  209;  orders, from  gov¬ 
ernor,  301,  302,  303,  305;  Mecca  Railway, 
15,  313.  324.  325.  327;  route  to,  J51,  331; 
territory  outside,  309,  311. 

Dan,  numbers  of,  182;  on  Madeba  map,  353. 

Darius  I,  canal  constructed  by,  51,  54. 

Dates,  Bible  dates,  20;  Egyptian,  33;  Exo¬ 
dus,  35. 

David,  age  of,  77;  a  good  Moslem,  216;  con¬ 
quered  Edomites,  341;  grandmother  of, 
348;  pursued  by  Saul,  173;  tomb  of,  358; 
worship  of,  230. 

Dead  Sea,  Belka  near,  310;  depth  of,  24,  25, 
334;  district  of,  340;  not  seen  from  Nebo, 
355,  357;  on  Madeba  map,  352;  position  of 
in  relation  to  Sinai,  36, 44;  route,  314,  339; 
seen  from  Mt.  Hor,  344,  345,  357;  steam 
launch,  16;  torrent  trees  of,  247. 

Decapolis,  Turkish  camp  on  site  of,  31 1; 
fall  of  Greek  cities,  330. 

Deir  el-Bahari,  gate  inscriptions,  31; 
jewelry  found  at,  250;  temple  erected  by 
Hatshepsut,  139. 

Delta,  ancient  route  near,  42. 

Deraa,  Mecca  railway,  325. 

Deuteronomy,  book  of,  213,  214,  227,  228, 
260,  347. 

Deuteronomy,  “D”  document,  216,  220,  227, 
230,  257. 

Dibon,  elevation  of,  25;  Exodus  route,  22, 
260,  346;  Moabite  stone  of,  26,  346. 

Diodorus,  date  of  Egyptian  canal,  52;  height 
of  sea  levels,  53. 

Divine  Law,  linked  with  oldest  geological 
formation,  45. 

Divine  providence,  author’s  belief  in,  in. 

Dophkah,  vicinity  of  Maghareh,  128,129, 145- 

Drake,  Lieut.,  at  Sinai,  272;  Palmer’s  travel¬ 
ing  companion  262. 


Ebal,  worship  at,  336. 

Ebers,  papyrus  (rising  of  Sirius),  35;  sug¬ 
gestion  that  Maphkah  is  Dophkah,  128. 
Edom,  ancient  route,  262;  Bedawin  of,  342; 
climate  of,  248,  249;  exodus  route,  24,  25, 
255,  267,  339,  340,  34i,  346;  king  of  Edom 
at  Petra,  335,  341;  our  route,  16,  17,  18, 
254,  289;  Mecca  railway,  15;  Petra  in,  329, 
330;  plateau  of,  345;  prophecies  against, 
342,  348;  remains  of  High  Places,  337; 
Roman  remains,  315. 

Edomites,  descendants  of  Esau,  341;  Israel¬ 
ites  hostility  to,  341;  modern  Arabs  like, 
343;  Palestine  invaded  by,  38,  341;  Petra, 

330. 


37° 


Index 


Edrei,  Mecca  railway,  15. 

Egypt,  annals  of,  20,  76,  140,  213,  260; 
Arabi  Pasha’s  rebellion,  262,  263;  arrival 
at  Akaba  from,  299;  boats  of,  139;  cara¬ 
vans  from,  309,  312,  331;  chronology  of, 
27,  28;  C.  of  I.  lived  on  high  road  to,  127; 
C.  of  I.  in  Egypt,  341;  civilization  of,  29, 
31,  39,  74;  dynasties  of,  31.  32,  35,  4D  42, 
58,  76,  77,  80,  81,  83,  84,  117,  122,  123, 

125,  126,  128,  133,  134,  139.  219,  249; 
eastern  commodities  brought  to,  329; 
education  of  Moses  in,  235;  England  in, 
289;  Exodus  out  of,  36,  45,  88,  91,  108, 
hi,  iis,  162,  164,  166,  167,  182,  185,  187, 
249;  flesh-pots  of,  111;  frontier  guarded 
by  wall,  98;  in  paleolithic  times,  251; 
Ishmaelites  visit,  81;  Israelites  visit,  81; 
Israelites  wish  to  return,  267;  Kesem 
(Goshen)  nome  of  Lower  Egypt,  97; 
Khedive  of,  324;  Kilawun  Caliph  of,  209, 
210;  language  of,  37,  138;  materials  for 
Tabernacle  from,  103;  Mohammed’s  jour¬ 
ney  to,  327;  monastic  movement  in,  157; 
New  Year’s  day  (1st  Thoth),  34;  owned 
by  Turkey,  87;  Pharaoh’s,  189;  prehistoric, 
122;  quails  in,  107;  races  living  in,  39; 
reason  for  C.  of  I.  leaving,  273;  route  to 
Canaan,  193,  256,  257,  260,  299,  300,  301; 
route  to  Sinai,  125,  137,  151;  routes  to 
Mesopotamia,  261,  262,  298,  332;  ruins 
in,  28;  smugglers,  200;  threatened  inun¬ 
dation  of,  52,  53;  worship,  133,  135. 

Egyptian  aeroplanes,  75;  armies,  97;  bond¬ 
age,  214,  244,  258,  265,  329;  calendar,  19, 
25,  26,  33,  34,  79;  chariots,  169;  composi¬ 
tion  of  mining  expeditions,  122,  123;  con¬ 
ception  of  Suez  Canal,  54;  expedition 
against  Arabia,  290;  expedition  against 
Palestine,  82;  correspondence,  40,84;  flag, 
289;  government  and  rifles,  49;  govern¬ 
ment  does  not  tax  Bedawin,  161,  300;  in¬ 
fluence  on  Hebrews  at  Serabit,  336;  in¬ 
scriptions  of  Maghareh  and  Serabit,  117, 

126,  128,  130,  141,  142,  181;  Iron  age, 
76;  jewels  and  jewelry,  143,  250;  knowl¬ 
edge  of  Palestine,  80;  knowledge  of  Sinai, 
42, 86, 88, 296;  language,  123,  233;  mining 
and  miners,  120,  122,  129,  132,  248;  name 
of  Mafkat,  129;  “mahmal,”  324;  name  for 
S.  Palestine,  340;  name  for  turquoise, 
117,  142;  officialdom,  166;  pilgrimages, 
289,  296,  312,  313;  postal  service,  43; 
prince  at  Benihassan,  81;  problem,  325; 
rule  in  Sinai,  40,  41,  42,  287;  site  for 
Rameses,  g8;  style  of  decoration  for 
Tabernacle,  247;  tent  makers,  247;  troops 
defended  frontier,  99,  295,  298;  trade  with 
Bedawin,  46. 

Egyptology,  accepts  Moses  as  historical,  235; 
Amarna  tablets,  85;  facts  of,  75,  77. 

Elah,  singular  of  Elim,  71. 

Elam,  conquest  of,  29,  39. 

Elath,  Exodus  route,  22,  43;  ancient  route 
at,  43,  297,  318. 

El  Benat,  Jebel,  view  of,  197. 

El  Buweib,  elevation  of,  193;  encampments 
at,  255;  entrance  to  Oasis  of  Feiran,  160, 
16 1,  197;  route,  199,  243. 

Elijah  altar  on  Carmel,  131;  Chapel  of  Jebel 
Musa,  239;  worship  on  High  Places,  337. 

Elim,  description  of.  72,  102,  103,  192,  193; 
route,  13,  17,  2i,  70,  90,  104,  260;  water  at, 


253;  Wilderness  of  Sin  near,  no;  word  plu¬ 
ral  of  Elah,  71. 

Elisha,  chapel  of,  on  Jebel  Musa,  239. 

El  Karkah,  nummulitic  limestone  at,  105; 
tableland  of,  105. 

El  Markha  (Markah),  description  of,  113; 
identified  as  Wilderness  of  Sin,  no;  route 
to  mines,  124,  252;  route  through,  150. 

El  Masadd,  Roman  wall  at,  314,  318. 

El  Mezraa,  plain  near  Gulf  of  Akaba,  318. 

El  Muharrad,  photo  from,  197;  our  route, 
156,  159- 

Elohistic,  “E”  document,  216,  220,  227,  231, 
232. 

England,  coronation,  190;  Christianity  in, 
244;  in  Egypt,  289;  overland  mail  route 
from,  53;  Suez  Canal  completed  by, 
50. 

English  gunboat  at  Akaba,  313;  language, 
217,  221,  234,  244;  translation  of  Alaf,  174, 
175;  translation  of  medbar,  154;  word 
“wander”  in  Hebrew,  92. 

Ephraim,  Joseph’s  children,  177;  on  Madeba 
map,  353;  numbers  of  tribe  of,  177. 

Er  Rahah,  pl^in  of,  route,  205;  suggestion  of 
Robinson,  195,  196;  view  of,  198,  202,  203, 
239,  269. 

Er  Weis  el  Ebeirig,  Arab  name  for  inscrip¬ 
tions,  272. 

Esau,  descendants’  anger  against  Hebrews, 
341;  went  to  Mt.  Seir,  329,  341. 

Etham,  camping  place  of  C.  of  I.,  98. 

Ethiopian,  stone  or  knife,  122. 

Et-Tih,  mountains  of,  282,  287,  293,  321, 
341;  plateau  of,  277;  route  across  desert  of, 
151,  261,  273,  283,  292;  torrent  trees  of, 
247;  unable  to  enter,  256. 

Et-Tor,  starting  point  of  caravans,  158. 

Eugenios,  Prior,  of  Monastery  of  St.  Kath¬ 
arine,  205,  211,  242. 

Euphrates,  civilization  of,  36,  39,  40;  Idu- 
means  on,  158;  route  to,  43,  151,  332; 
Semitic  influence,  37,  38. 

Exiguus,  Dionysius,  his  chronology,  28. 

Exodus,  Amarna  tablets  and,  84;  Bible  his¬ 
tory  before  and  after,  137,  244;  Biblical 
accounts  of,  234,  236,  257,  258;  book  of,  98, 
169,  213,  214,  227,  228,  229,  232,  346; 
chronology  of,  27,  35,  73,  78,  79,  80;  con¬ 
nection  with  Petra,  335,  338;  date  of,  29, 
40,  45,  80,  83,  84,  85,  86,  87,  88,  220,  223, 
227;  desert  of,  11,  15,  61,  91,  194,  262,  273; 
Deuteronomy  written  shortly  after,  231; 
difficulties  connected  with,  166,  168,  174, 
221,  224;  double  Exodus,  81,  88,  249;  ends 
in  Land  of  Moab,  347;  historicity  of,  25, 
88,  247,  256;  language  earlier  than,  117; 
mines  worked  before,  116,  127,  129;  num¬ 
bers  of  C.  of  I.,  163, 164,  170, 171, 180,  183, 
186,  187,  189,  251;  problem  of,  19,  hi;  re¬ 
mains  of,  23,  265,  287;  route  of,  15,  22,  24, 
25,36,51,  88,  99,  118,  142,  147,184,  204, 
221,  255,  256,  258,  267,  271,  324;  sanctity 
of  Horeb  not  acquired  during,  91;  Serabit 
connected  with,  138,  142;  Sinai  fame  rests 
on,  37,  242;  supposed  inscriptions  of  Is 
raelites  during,  143. 

Ezekiel,  “D”  document,  time  of,  227;  proph¬ 
ecy  against  Edom,  342. 

Ezion  Geber,  route,  17,  23,  259,  260,  283,  284, 
287,  292,  297,  339;  seaport  of  Hebrews, 
294;  telegraph  system  at,  16. 


Index 


371 


Faust’s  Monologue,  article  by  Scherer,  222, 

Feiran,  ancient  Idumean  town,  157,  158;  as 
camping  ground,  147,  151,  196,  198;  en¬ 
trance  to  valley,  150;  is  Rephidim,  128; 
Romans  masters  of,  157;  route,  158,  196, 
199,  276. _ 

Feiran,  Oasis  of,  description,  154,  160,  189, 
192, 193, 194;  route,  260,  284;  traditions  of, 
209,  328;  water  at,  198,  253,  255. 

Fureia,  Jebel,  route,  270. 

Furtaga,  Arabs  name  for  fountain  at  Wady 
el  Ain,  288. 

Fuweileh  (Fuwaileh),  on  Roman  road,  321; 
route,  254,  255. 

Gabriel  (Brother),  Monastery  of  St.  Kath¬ 
arine,  237,  238,  242,  268. 

Galilee,  end  of  journey,  64;  places  associated 
with  Christ,  15,  202,  204;  Sea  of,  358; 
Turkish  camp  east  of,  311. 

Ganneau,  Mr.  Clermont,  Madeba  map,  353. 

Gaza,  charcoal  from,  299;  friends  in,  256; 
name  on  Mosaic  map,  350;  Palmer  at,  263; 
route  through,  150,  261,  283,  299. 

Genesis,  book  of,  213,  227,  229,  230,  232. 

Gerizim,  worship  at,  336. 

German,  Goethe  Year  Book,  222;  military 
strength,  184;  scholar,  Meisner  Pasha,  95, 
322. 

Germany,  on  Mt.  of  Olives,  358;  theories 
born  in,  221. 

Gershon,  meaning  of  clan,  a  son  of  Levi,  177; 
sons  of  Libni  and  Shemei,  177. 

Geshem  (Gesem)  (Kesem),  ancient  names  of 
Goshen,  97,  98. 

Gharundal,  description  of,  72;  “Elim” 
identification  of,  71,  72;  journey  to,  70. 

Gibson,  Mrs.,  improvements  in  Sinai  Li¬ 
brary,  21 1. 

Gideon,  family  (alaf),  poorest  in  Manasseh, 
173- 

God,  above  local  deities,  159;  choice  of  Holy 
Land,  204;  found  Israel,  154;  Hebrews 
contact  with,  45,  187,  194,  202,  214,  225, 
245,  257;  miracle  of,  101,  in;  Moses’ 
guidance  by,  45,  152,  344;  name  as  test 
for  documents,  216,  217,  218,  235;  revela¬ 
tion,  226;  word  of,  256. 

Goshen,  land  of,  identified,  102,  103;  near 
Heliopolis,  84;  starting-point  of  route,  98, 
166. 

Goucher,  Dr.  John  F.,  journey  of,  47,  48; 
travelling  companions,  16,  301. 

Great  Britain,  duty  to  restore  order  among 
Arabs,  290;  erection  of  boundary  pillars 
by,  290;  military  strength,  184. 

Greek,  chapel  on  Jebel  Musa,  239;  Christians 
at  Sinai,  157,  194,  195;  cities  of  Decapolis, 
330;  conception  of  Christianity,  217; 
hymns,  217;  Ionian,  at  Sinai,  46;  inscrip¬ 
tions  at  Sinai,  143,  144;  islands,  quails  on, 
107;  monk’s  letter  to  Patriarch,  350; 
navy,  52;  Patriarch  at  Jerusalem,  350,  351; 
pilgrims  escorted  by  Bedawin,  46;  race,  39; 
site  of  church  at  Madeba,  350;  volumes  in 
Sinai  library,  21 1. 

Guwaireh,  ruins  at,  319;  Turkish  camp  at, 
31 1 ;  water  supply,  254,  319. 

Habir.1,  coming  of,  to  Palestine,  85. 

Hammadi,  Sheikh,  head  cameleer,  46. 


Hamman,  Jebel,  view  of,  69. 

Hammurabi,  comparison  between  Mosaic 
code  and  code  of,  38;  date  of,  38;  in  Baby¬ 
lonia,  38;  Old  Testament  laws  anticipated 
by  code  of,  38,  222,  223,  229. 

Hanak  el  Lagm.  See  Wady  Tayyibeh. 

Haroun  er  Rashid,  reopening  canal  projected 
by,  52,  54- 

Harris,  J.  Rendel,  Dophkah  (Mafkat), 
128. 

Harun,  Jebel  Neby,  identification  with  Mt. 
Hor,  23,  339,  340,  344. 

Hasmonah,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  292. 

Hat-hor,  local  Serabit  deity,  133.  134,  137, 
140. 

Hat-shep-sut,  daughter  of  Thutmose  I.,  83, 
138,  139,  140,  142;  architect  of,  250;  her 
name  erased,  31;  sarcophagus  of,  139; 
shrines  built  by,  142;  temple  offerings  from, 
135- 

Hawara,  Biblical  Marah,  69,  70. 

Hazeroth,  description  of,  279,  282,  286; 
meaning  of  word,  280;  route  of  C.  of  I.,  260, 
273,  284,  287,  292,  297;  our  route,  17,  151, 
354.  279. 

Hebrew,  Hebrews,  camp,  112;  faith,  140,  233; 
festivals,  80;  Habiri  identified  with,  38, 
85;  Hatshepsut  patroness  of,  83;  history, 
26,  45,  77,  88,  197,  214,  245,  258,  341; 
Hyksos  identified  with,  81;  invasion  of 
Palestine,  38;  at  Kadesh  Barnea,  266; 
legislation,  194,  196;  language,  233,  234; 
libraries,  213;  MSS.,  128,  224,  233;  miracle 
of  human  history,  244;  mission  of,  26,  38, 
159,  246;  Moslem  word  “Ilajj,”  272;  names 
of  places,  279;  oldest  inscription,  176;  over 
seers,  182,  235;  productiveness,  183;  re¬ 
mained  in  Egypt,  88,  249;  seaport,  294: 
soul,  245;  traditions,  146;  word,  “Alaf,’’ 
172,  173,  174,  175,  187;  “Horeb,”  138; 
“medbar,”  154;  “tahash,”  248;  eight 
words  translated  wander,  92. 

Hebron,  route  to,  261;  seen  from  Nebo,  357; 
sight  of  Hor  coming  from,  344. 

Hedjaz  railway,  302,  311,  322,  323,  324. 

Heliopolis,  absence  of  Hebrew' records  at,  84; 
Amenhotep  ruler  of,  84;  Semitic  impress  at, 
37- 

Herodotus,  date  of,  32;  sacrificial  rites,  time 
of,  76- 

Heshbon,  Nebo  near,  356,  357. 

Hexateuch,  compilers  of,  163,  235;  docu¬ 
ments  forming,  212,  213,  214,  215,  218, 
220,  222,  224,  225,  226,  227,  228,  229,  230, 
231,  257;  numbers  of  C.  of  I.  mentioned 
in,  164,  172,  173.  174- 

Hezekiah,  documents  in  time  of,  230;  oldest 
Hebrew  inscription,  176. 

Hismeh,  route,  318,  320. 

Hittites,  dwellers  in  Cappadocia,  85;  Amama 
letters  mention,  84;  Stele  of  Memeptah 
mentions,  87. 

Hivites,  dwellers  in  Kadesh  Barnea,  266. 

Hobab,  Amarna  tablets  mention,  85;  father- 
in-law  Moses,  171. 

Holland,  Rev.  F.  W.,  travels  in  Arabia,  252, 
253,  280. 

Holy  Land,  conquest  of,  347;  geographical 
features  of,  345;  Jewish  shrines,  246; 
Madeba  map,  354. 

Hor,  ascent  of,  342,  343,  344;  identification 
of,  23,  340;  route,  18,  23,  255,  260,  339; 


372 


Index 


tomb  on,  343,  345;  view  of,  334,  345;  wor¬ 
ship  at,  336. 

Horeb,  C.  of  I.  at,  91,  103,  145,  152,  231, 
257;  description  of,  189,  202;  Elijah  on, 
239;  meaning  of  name,  138.  145;  religious 
character  of,  42,  45. 

Horites.  dwellers  in  Mt.  Seir,  329,  330,  340, 
341- 

Hormah,  defeat  of  C.  of  I.  at,  258,  339. 

Hor-ur-ra,  stele  of,  at  Serabit,  138. 

Hoskins,  Prof.  J.  P.,  assistance  of,  13, 

Hoskins,  Prof.  W.  H.,  assistance  of,  13. 

Hudheibat  Hajjaz,  near  Et-Tih  plateau,  277. 

Hudherah,  Ain  (Hazeroth),  description  of, 
280,  286;  Mawared  el,  280;  route,  279; 
Valley  of,  286. 

Hull,  visit  to  Mt.  Hor,  343. 

Hyksos,  dynasty  of,  32,  40. 


Idumeans,  before  Christian  era,  158. 

Imm  Temam,  valley  of  Sinai,  115. 

India,  caravans  from,  329;  era  of,  28;  over¬ 
land  mail  to,  53;  pilgrims  from,  at  Akaba, 
313;  Suez  connecting  link  between  Europe 
and,  50. 

Ionian  Greeks  at  Sinai  monastery,  46,  21 1. 

Irby,  experience  with  Arabs,  343. 

Iron  age,  transition  from  Bronze  age,  76. 

Isaac,  may  have  passed  Serabit,  137;  Esau 
left,  340. 

Isaiah  documents,  time  of,  230. 

Ishmaelites,  section  of  Midianites,  96;  visit 
Egypt,  81.  , 

Islam,  Africans  accept,  219;  dates  from  Mu¬ 
hammad,  216;  in  Sinai  Peninsula,  206; 
world  of,  324. 

Ismailia  (Ismaliyeh),  ancient  route  near,  42, 
43;  fresh  water  canal  to,  50;  railway  to,  53; 
site  of  Raamses  near,  97. 

Israel,  Children  of,  at  Sinai,  249,  257;  Egypt 
when  C.  of  I.  were  in  wilderness,  86;  enter 
Palestine,  84,  92,  347,  356;  encampments 
of,  191,  192,  193,  194,  198,  259,  284;  in 
Canaan,  168;  at  Mt.  of  Law,  190,  232,  238; 
at  Kadesh,  340;  at  Petra,  335;  in  Egypt,  80, 
83,  87,  97,  98,  169,  235,  257,  329,  341; 
ancient  routes,  261;  built  House  of  the 
Lord,  78;  did  they  cross  Canal?  51,  98; 
history  of,  214,  216,  257,  265,  266,  329, 
336;  miracles  of,  101, 107,  108,  273;  Moses’ 
code.  140;  murmuring  of,  in,  267;  num¬ 
bers  of,  163,  164,  172,  182,  183,  184,  185, 
186,  251,  257,  283;  reasons  for  leaving 
Egypt,  273;  reckoning  employed  by,  79, 
181;  religious  division  of,  177,  221;  route, 
43,  4S,  58,  70,  71,  73,  92,  94,  106,  113, 
114,  129, 145, 149,  150,  151,  161,  166,  254, 
258,  273,  279,  283,  285,  292,  339,  345,  346, 
347,  358;  time  of  leaving  Egypt,  108,  148; 
time  required  to  reach  Palestine,  91,  259; 
water  supply  for,  152,  160. 

Israel,  Kingdom  of,  dates  of,  77;  condition 
of,  220;  face  of,  293. 

Israelites,  all  did  not  leave  Egypt  with 
Moses,  88;  at  Kadesh  Barnea,  266;  He¬ 
brew  slaves  changed  to,  45,  189,  214,  258; 
heroes,  343;  hostility  to  Edomites,  341, 
343,  348;  idolatry  of,  347;  influence  of  Ser¬ 
abit  upon,  336;  numbers  of,  25,  112,  115, 
151,  162,  163,  164,  169;  records  and  docu¬ 
ments  of,  213,  223;  supposed  remains  of 


(Et  Tih),  273;  supposed  inscriptions  of 
(Sinai),  143;  tradition  of  conquest  of 
Canaan,  81. 

Israel’s  families,  173;  first  bom,  186;  itiner¬ 
ary,  92,  93;  peoples  and  religion,  contact 
with,  96,  140,  265. 

Ithamar,  son  of  Aaron,  170. 

Iye  Aberim,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  346. 


Jabbok,  elevation  of,  25;  Jacob  at,  17;  our 
route,  16. 

Jacob  at  Beersheba,  130;  at  Bethel,  131,  137; 
blessing  of,  Madeba  map,  353;  Esau  parted 
from,  329,  340;  the  Jabbok,  17;  Mizpah, 
131;  location  of  well  of,  146,  358. 

Jahaz,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  346. 

Jahvistic,  “J”  document,  216,  220,  227,  231, 
232. 

Jasher,  Book  of,  reference  to,  in  Joshua,  228. 

Jaulan,  Circassians  at,  310. 

Jeddeh,  port  of,  313;  railway,  325. 

Jehosophat,  conquered  Edomites,  341; 
documents  time  of,  230. 

Jehovah,  ark  of,  188;  law  of  Jahweh,  229; 
name  of,  217;  sentence  of  death  on  Moses, 
344,  354;  vengeance  against  Edom,  342; 
worship  of,  on  High  Places,  337. 

Jerahmeelites,  imaginary  location  of  Sinai, 
250. 

Jerash,  Circassians  at,  310;  roads  to,  350. 

Jeremiah,  prophecy  against  Edom,  342; 
mention  of  Moab,  348. 

Jericho,  Ehud  dwelt  in,  85;  Gilgal  in  plain  of, 
1 12;  Kenites  went  to,  92;  Madeba  due 
east  of,  311;  Nebo  seen  from,  356,  357; 
route,  16,  22,  25,  256,  258,  267,  359. 

Jerome,  traditions  of  Mt.  Hor,  23. 

Jerusalem,  associated  with  Christ,  358; 
attacked  by  Habiri,  85;  beseiged  by  Neb¬ 
uchadnezzar,  341;  Biblical  sites,  15,  194; 
comparisonjbetween  Petra’and,  330;  friends 
in,  256;  inscriptions  at,  32;  Jewish  wor¬ 
ship  at,  137,  194,  336,  338;  name  of,  on 
Madeba  map,  350,  351,  352;  Nebo  seen 
from,  355,  357;  Patriarchate,  157,  350; 
route,  318;  V’sit  of  Prior  Eugenios,  211. 

Jeshimon,  near  Nebo,  358. 

Jethro,  Arab  name  for  Shu’aib,  238;  route  of 
C.  of  I.,  145;  visit  of,  152. 

Jewish,  history,  140;  kingdom,  338;  pil¬ 
grims,  146;  worship,  137,  194. 

Jews,  era  of,  29;  existence  of  to-day,  359; 
covet  Moses’  and  Aaron’s  tombs,  343; 
grave  of  Jew,  104;  leaving  Russia  in 
Zionist  movement,  88;  owners  of  Promised 
Land,  18. 

Joel,  prophecy  against  Edom,  342. 

Joliffe,  description  of  Arabah,  342. 

Jordan,  associated  with  Christ,  358;  discov¬ 
eries  beyond,  350;  dwellers  east  of,  96,  151, 
309.  347.  356;  encampment  of  C.  of  I.,  258, 
267,  346,  347,  358;  fountain  east  of,  321; 
on  Madeba  map,  352,  353. 

Jordan  River,  Exodus  route,  21,  91,  359; 
height  of,  24,  356;  our  route,  17,  94;  pig¬ 
eons  beyond,  65;  ruins  near,  329;  steam 
launch  on,  16;  stoppage  of,  21. 

Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,  geographical  posi¬ 
tion  of,  44,  354,  356;  geology  of,  44,  119, 
293;  route,  151,  332,  339;  seen  from  Nebo, 
357,  358;  use  of,  13,  256. 


Index 


Joseph,  children  of,  177;  arrival  in  Egypt,  81, 
96;  date  of  birth,  82;  Israel’s  bequest  to, 
82;  Nile,  17;  resemblance  between  Sebek- 
khu  and,  82,  83. 

Josephus,  extracts  from  Manetho,  32;  his¬ 
tory  of  Moses,  83;  tradition  of  Mt.  Hor,  23. 

Joshua,  appointment  of,  347;  book  of,  213, 
227,  232;  conquest  of  Canaan  by,  168,  228, 
265;  “D”  document  time  of,  231;  men¬ 
tioned  in  Amarna  tablets,  85. 

Josiah,  “D”  document,  220,  227,  229,  230, 
231. 

Judah,  families  of,  173;  in  Canaan,  168,  169; 
on  Madeba  map,  353;  seen  from  Nebo,  357. 

Judea,  Nebo  seen  from,  355,  357. 

Judges,  book  of,  169. 

Justinian,  Feiran  presented  to,  157;  Fort 
built  on  Sinai  by,  206,  207;  no  granite  used 
to  repair  monastery  since,  209. 


Kadesh  Barnea,  Arabic  word  for,  263; 
Chedorlaomer  at,  261;  elevation  of,  24; 
our  route,  22,  151,  259;  route  of  C.  of  I., 
92,  94,  192,  255,  258,  260,  261,  265,  266, 
267,  283,  335,  339;  site  of,  23,  262,  264, 
280;  travellers  in,  316;  water  supply  at, 
263,  266. 

Karkar,  Ahab  defeated  at,  78. 

Karnak,  inscriptions  at,  31. 

Kassite  Kings,  29. 

Katharine,  Jebel,  description  of,  189,  240. 

Kenath,  Exodus  route,  22. 

Kenites,  characteristics  of,  96;  from  Kadesh 
Barnea,  92;  section  of  Midianites,  96,  152. 

Kerak  (Kir  Hareseth),  ancient  road  through, 
262;  caravans  to,  309;  Christian  from,  349, 
350;  guard  from,  302,  312;  orders  to 
Governor  of,  301,  302,  305,  307,  308;  re¬ 
built  by  Crusaders,  31 1;  Turkish  camp 
at,  31 1. 

Khabiri  (Habiri),  identification  of  Hebrews 
with,  85. 

Khafra,  IV  Dynasty,  42. 

Khar,  Egyptian  name  for  south  Palestine, 
34°- 

Khedive  at  Mecca,  324;  opening  and  sub¬ 
sidy  for  Suez  Canal,  54. 

Khufu,  builder  of  pyramids,  42. 

Kibroth-Hattaaveh,  route,  284;  tradition, 
277;  quails  at,  170,  274. 

Kilawun,  Muslim  Caliph  of  Egypt,  209. 

Kings,  list  of  Egyptian,  31. 

Kitchener,  visit  to  Mt.  Hor,  343. 

Kohath,  meaning  of  clan,  177. 

Korah,  at  Kadesh,  267. 

Kuneitereh,  Circassians  at,  310. 


Laborde,  at  Mt.  Hor,  342;  route  of,  292. 
Latin,  chapel  on  Jebel  Musa.  239;  Christian¬ 
ity  at  Sinai,  194;  church  at  Madeba,  350; 
conceptions  of  Christianity,  217;  hymns, 
217;  writer,  156. 

Lebanon,  government  taxation,  179;  loco¬ 
motion  on,  75;  use  of  name,  145. 

Leigh  and  Arabs,  343. 

Lesseps,  Ferdinand  de,  statue  of,  51;  sur¬ 
vey  of,  53,  54. 

Levi,  word  clan,  177;  “D”  literary  product 

of,  230. 

Levites,  census  of,  165,  168,  177,  183,  184, 


373 


185;  preaching  of,  230;  priesthood,  170, 
232. 

Leviticus,  book  of,  213,  214,  227,  257,  260. 
Lewis,  Mrs.,  Sinai  Library.  21  x. 

Libbey,  Prof.  Wm.,  assistance  of,  13;  in 
Edom,  249,  336,  344;  photos  of,  13. 
Libnites,  meaning  of  clan,  177. 

Libyan  Desert,  oasis  in,  153. 

Lot,  strife  between  herdsmen  of  Abraham 
and,  191. 


Ma’an,  Mecca  railway,  324,  328;  our  Arab 
guidesat,  316;  route,  22,  254,  260,  301, 302, 
308,  322,  324,  328;  telegraph  at,  16;  Turk¬ 
ish  camp  at,  311,  3x4,  319. 

Maccabee  history,  359. 

MacDonald,  Major,  the  work  of,  115,  126, 
127. 

Madeba,  description  of,  349,  350,  354,  359; 
elevation  of,  25;  map  in  Greek  church  at, 

26,  350,  351,  353,  357;  Moses’  law  given 
at,  231;  Nebo  near,  356;  route,  22,  260, 
345,  346;  Turkish  government  at,  311; 
wall  (Roman),  290,  315. 

Madurah,  Jebel,  site  of  Mt.  Hor,  23,  340. 

Mafkat,  Egyptian  name  for  turquoise,  117. 

Magan,  land  of,  29,  41. 

Maghareh,  Dophkah  or — ,  128, 145,  150;  ge¬ 
ology  of,  1 19;  inscriptions  from,  in  Boulac 
Museum,  49,  252;  mines  of,  115,  117,  118, 
119,  127,  129;  route,  155,  193,  260,  274; 
sculptures,  125, 126,  127;  Syrian  miners  at, 
26;  turquoise  mines  at,  26,  42,  116. 

Mahler,  date  of  Exodus,  81. 

Malachi,  prophecy  against  Edom,  342. 

Manasseh,  Joseph’s  children,  177;  tribe  of 
177,  180;  numbers  of,  182. 

Manetho,  history  of,  31,  32;  libels  on,  32. 

Mangles,  and  Arabs,  343. 

Manium,  Lord  of  the  Land  of  Magan,  41. 

Marah,  modern  Hawara,  69,  70,  102;  trav¬ 
ellers  and  water,  149. 

Mar  Elias,  monastery  seen  from  Nebo,  357. 

Maspero,  “Dawn  of  Civilization,”  Struggle 
of  the  Nations,  “Passing  Away  of  the 
Nations,”  37;  identification  of  Mt.  Seir, 

340.  _ 

Mas’udi,  Arabic  writer,  52. 

Maximian,  Emperor,  torture  of  St.  Kath¬ 
arine  on  wheel,  207,  208. 

McCurdy,  date  of  Exodus,  81. 

Mecca,  caravans,  298,  312;  Hegira,  28;  Pil¬ 
grimage  railway,  15,  95;  route  to,  259,  289, 
296,  324,  325. 

Medayin  Salih,  ancient  rock  hewn  city,  319. 

Mediaeval  Christian  Church,  comparison 
between  Reformation  and,  38. 

Medina,  Hegira,  28;  massacre  near,  308;  pil¬ 
grims  at,  313;  railway  to,  324,  325;  sur¬ 
vey  of  district,  95. 

Mediterranean,  commerce,  54,  329;  Israel 
little  to  do  with,  293;  on  Madeba  map,  352; 
Nebo  in  relation  to,  356;  Phcenecian  cities 
on,  37;  Red  Sea,  height  of,  in  relation  to, 
53;  Sinai  in  relation  to,  36,  151;  travel  in, 

27. 

Meissner  Pasha,  cost  of  Mecca  railway,  325; 
engineer  of,  95,  322. 

Memphites,  annexation  of  Sinai  by,  41. 

Menes,  founder  of  Egyptian  kingdom,  32,  76. 

Menhaura,  builder  of  pyramids,  42. 


374 


Index 


Mentuhotep,  chief  artist  of,  249. 

Merari,  meaning  of  clan,  177;  sons  of,  177. 

Merneptah,  Israel  Stele  of,  discovered  at 
Karnak,  87. 

Mertisen,  artist  of  Egypt,  249. 

Mesopotamia,  invasion  of,  by  Semites,  38; 
route  from,  25,  151,  261,  262. 

Midian,  imaginary  location  of  Sinai  in,  250. 

Midianites,  characteristics  of,  96;  general 
term  for  dwellers  east  of  Jordan,  96,  152; 
land  of,  east  of  Akaba,  94. 

Milhem,  our  dragoman,  49,  64,  205,  268,  270; 
photo  of,  276. 

Minzaleh,  Lake,  Canal  through,  54. 

Miracle,  Hebrew  people  a,  26,  45;  what  is  a, 
20. 

Miriam  at  Kadesh  (Hazeroth),  267,  279,  280, 

Mizpah,  pillar  at,  131. 

Moab,  ancient  road  to,  262;  Balak,  king  of, 
85,  347;  boundary  of,  346;  census  taken 
at,  178;  climate  of,  248;  great  wall  in,  290; 
Mecca  railway,  15;  mentioned  158  times, 
348,  358;  Midianites  of,  96;  plains  or 
plateau  of,  223,  231,  267,  345,347,349, 
355,  356,  357,  358,  359;  routes,  16,  17,  18, 
25,  255,  257,  339,  34i,  345,  358. 

Moabitess,  Ruth,  348. 

Moabite  Stone,  discovery  of,  350;  numbers 
in  full  words,  176. 

Moabites,  Chemosh,  god  of,  337;  conquered 
by  C.  of  I.,  347;  history  of,  359;  invasion 
of  Palestine  by,  38;  religious  influence  on 
Hebrews,  336. 

Mohammadan  era,  28;  caravans,  273. 

Morocco,  Turkey’s  claim  to  ownership  of,  87. 

Mosaic,  authorship  of  Pentateuch,  76;  code 
and  Hammurabi’s,  38,  222,  223;  legisla¬ 
tion  against  pillars,  140. 

Moses,  authorship  of,  220;  a  good  Moslem, 
216;  a  greater  than,  202,  245;  as  leader,  45, 
73,  88,  147,  171,  184,  192,  193,  196,  257, 
258, 267, 279, 280,  335,  343,  347,  3541  code 
of,  45,  140,  222,  224,  229;  dates  of,  83; 
Deuteronomy  a  biography  of,  214;  docu¬ 
mentary  theories  and,  220;  father-in-law 
of, ^145,  152,  171,  238;  fight  with  Amalek, 
152;  foster-mother  of,  135, 138, 142;  golden 
calf,  162;  historical  Moses,  221;  his  view 
from  Nebo,  17,  356,  357,  359,  360;  knowl¬ 
edge  of  Egyptians,  138;  knowledge  of 
Sinai,  91,  127,  140,  207;  Levi  tribe  of,  184, 
185;  mentioned  on  Madeba  map,  353; 
memories  of,  346,  354,  359;  own  people 
scattered,  358;  protection  of,  241;  story 
of  Sinai  and,  243;  St.  Katharine  Convent 
not  in  memory  of,  208;  visits  Pharaoh,  84; 
writing,  time  of,  76,  228. 

Moses,  Fountains  of,  camp  at,  near  Jordan, 
260,  359. 

Moses,  Springs  of,  distance  to  Marah,  70; 
hurricane  at,  59,  277;  on  Arabian  coast 
5°.  57>  58;  route  from,  70,  101;  spread  of 
rumors,  147;  watch  at,  253. 

Moslem  shrines,  343;  Arabs’  mainly,  271; 
conquest  of  Egypt,  52;  Hajj,  272;  Hegira, 
187;  may  be  Syrian,  Arab,  etc.,  95,  96; 
Mecca  railway  built  by,  325,  326;  our 
guard,  303;  pilgrimage,  327;  traditions  and 
conquest  of  Sinai,  194,  195,  209,  242; 
worship  to-day,  137, 359;  writers,  176,  216. 

Mountain  of  the  Cross,  our  route,  270. 

Mountain  of  the  Law,  situation  of,  72,  96. 


Mount  Carmel,  Elijah  on,  337;  railway  from 
Deraa  to,  325. 

Mount  of  Olives,  location  of,  146. 

Mount  Seir,  ancient  name  for  Edom,  329, 
340;  Esau  lived  in,  341. 

Muhaimeh,  sandstone  mass  at,  319. 

Muhair,  plain  of,  on  African  coast,  no. 
Muhawish  Ibn  Salman,  our  guide,  316. 
Mujib,  formerly  brook  Arnon,  346. 
Muleteers  of  caravan,  16. 

Musa  Bu  Nasir,  chief  of  Sinai  Bedawin,  49. 
Musa,  Jebel,  description  of,  189,  209,  2x2, 
237,  239,  344;  elevation  of,  288;  road  over, 
241,  242;  traditional  Mt.  of  Law,  195. 
Mutalia  Hadrah,  route,  279. 

Myers,  Prof.,  chronology  of,  74;  date  of 
Exodus,  81;  visit  to  Petra  with,  65,  336. 


Nabathean,  at  Petra,  158, 329,  330;  inscrip¬ 
tions  at  Sinai,  140,  144,  158. 

Nablus  (Nablous),  Jacob’s  well  at,  146;  name 
on  Madeba  map,  352. 

Nagb  el  Buderah,  Major  MacDonald’s  work, 
1x4. 

Nagb  el  Hawa,  route,  199,  200,  201,  202. 

Nagb  Estar,  our  route,  254,  321. 

Nahhailah,  description  of,  287. 

Nakhl,  pay  of  Akaba  troops  received  from, 
291;  route  via,  158,  261;  Trumbull  at,  264. 

Naoum  Beg  Shucair,  distance  to  Suez  and 
Gaza,  283;  interview  with,  48;  introduc¬ 
tions  from,  161,  243. 

Napoleon  I  projected  Suez  Canal,  52,  54. 

Naram-Sin,  conquests  of,  29,  41. 

Naville,  identification  of  Pithom  with  Tell 
el  Mash-kuta,  80,  97. 

Nazareth,  life  of  Christ,  204;  seen  from  Nebo, 
358. 

Nazim  Pasha,  orders  from  Kerak  to,  301 , 303. 

Neapolis,  name  of,  on  Madeba  map,  350. 

Nebi  Saleh,  patron  saint  of  Sinai,  159. 

Nebo,  description  of,  355,  359;  elevation  of, 
25,  356;  Madeba  near,  354;  Moses  on,  17, 
231,  343,  347,  359;  name  Nebo,  356;  route, 
260,  267;  worship  at,  336. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  burning  of  temple  by,  78, 
34i- 

Neby  Salih,  meaning  of,  271. 

Nehemiah,  “P”  document,  220. 

Nekhen,  shrine  of,  29. 

Neolithic,  date  of,  74;  emigration  of  Semites, 
37- 

New  Testament,  events,  146,  190;  gift  of,  to 
monks,  211;  laws  of  rabbins,  90;  MSS., 
211,  227;  metaphors,  91;  references  to 
manna,  112;  writers,  227. 

Nicopolis,  on  Madeba  map,  350. 

Nigeb  (Negeb),  south  country,  265;  route  of 
C.  of  I.,  339. 

Nile,  antiquities  of,  27,  31,  51,  251;  boundary 
of,  on  Madeba  map,  352,  353;  civilization 
of,  36,  39,  40;  dates,  33;  distance  from 
Nile  to  Jordan,  91;  distance  to  Sinai, 
252;  drinking  water  of,  56,  253;  Israel’s 
bondage  at,  45;  Joseph  at,  17;  land  of,  26, 
36;  waters  of,  50,  52. 

“Nile  to  Nebo”  title  of  book  decided  on,  109. 

Nineveh,  library  at,  41. 

Nomes, administrative  districts  of  Egypt,  97. 

Numbers,  book  of,  213,  214,  227,  228,  232, 
257,  258,  260,  347. 


Index 


375 


Nuweiba  (Neweibeh),  military  post  at,  290; 
our  route,  254,  289,  291,  292. 


Obadiah,  prophecy  against  Edom,  342. 

Oboth,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  346. 

Og,  King  of  Bashan,  capital  of,  15,  325,  347. 

Old  Testament,  books  of,  213;  correction  of 
numbers,  163;  dates,  77;  living  in  spirit  of, 
109;  MSS.,  88,  211,  217,  222,  226,  227,  233; 
no  certain  sites,  190;  numbers  written  out, 
176;  number  of  palms  at  Elim,  72;  refer¬ 
ence  to  manna,  112. 

Olives,  Mount  of,  seen  from  Nebo,  18,  358. 

Omar  Ibn  Khalil,  our  guide,  316. 

On,  Hebrews  living  at,  after  Exodus,  249. 

Onomasticon,  Madeba  map,  353. 

Oreis  et  Temman,  shrine  near  Wady  Useyt, 
105. 

Ottoman  Empire,  Mecca  railway,  325. 


Paddan-aram,  Jacob  fled  from,  340. 

Paleolithic  stage  of  history,  74. 

Palestine,  badgers  found  in,  248;  boundary 
of,  260,  283;  caravans  from,  visit  Egypt, 
81;  C.  of  I.  enter,  84,  88;  civilization  of, 
39.  329;  correspondence  with  Egypt,  84; 
Egyptian  expedition  against,  82;  Egyptian 
province,  80,  84,  86;  Exodus  into,  235;  in¬ 
vaded  by  Semites,  38;  materials  for  taber¬ 
nacle  not  from,  247;  mention  of  by  Mer- 
neptah,  87;  pearl  industry,  293;  sacred 
stones  of,  130;  seen  from  Nebo,  355;  wor¬ 
ship  in,  131,  132. 

Palmer,  at  Hazeroth,  280,  281,  282;  at 
Hawara,  71;  at  Sinai,  126,  210,  248,  272; 
book  of,  265,  271;  death  of,  243,  264; 
desert  of  Exodus,  262,  273,  292;  rebellion 
of  Arabi  Pasha,  262;  story  of  Abbas  Pasha, 
240. 

Panama,  canal  at,  50,  55. 

Pan-Islamic  ideas  of  Abd  ul  Hamid,  324. 

Paris  to  Mecca  by  rail,  325. 

Pa-Soft,  capital  of  Kesem  (Goshen),  97. 

Patriarch,  Gerasimos  and  Madeba  map,  350, 
351;  Nicodemus  of  Jerusalem,  350. 

Peck,  Capt.,  assistance  of,  56. 

Pekah,  war  against  Judah,  341. 

Pelusium,  fortresses  from,  to  Suez,  290. 

Peninsular  and  Oriental  mail  service,  53. 

Pentateuch,  authorship  of,  76;  164;  docu¬ 
ments  of,  81,  213,  230;  end  of,  347;  litera¬ 
ture  on,  11 ;  misinterpretation  of,  169, 
235- 

Peor,  shrine  on  Moab  plateau,  356. 

Persia,  caravans  from,  329;  pilgrims  from, 
313;  revolution  in,  290;  turquoise  found 
in,  116. 

Persian,  Chosroes,  conquests  of,  359. 

Petra,  ancient  route  at,  43,  144,  151,  158, 
261,  318;  birds  of,  318;  climate,  249;  de¬ 
scription  of,  119,  278,  280,  281,  318,  328, 
329,  330,  331,  335;  high  places  at,  137, 
336,  338;  history  of,  330,  335,  340;  meet¬ 
ing  with  Germans,  73;  meeting-point  of 
civilizations,  40,  329;  Nabatheans  at,  158; 
our  Arab  guides  at,  316;  our  route,  25, 
301;  pigeons  at,  66;  previous  visit  to,  65, 
256;  sand-stone  of,  293;  travellers  at,  343, 
344- 

Petrie,  Mrs.,  discovery  of  inscriptions,  141. 


Petrie,  Prof.  W.  M.  F.,  at  Hawara,  71;  chro¬ 
nology,  78,  87;  discovery  of  Raamses,  97; 
height  of  Nagb  el  Buderah,  115;  inscrip¬ 
tions  at  Sinai,  141 ;  labor,  124;  mining  tools, 
1 21;  numbers  of  C.  of  I.,  183;  researches  at 
Serabit,  123,  133,  136;  at  Sinai,  13. 

Pharan.  See  Feiran. 

Pharaoh,  daughter  of,  135,  138;  de  Lesseps 
as  [noted  as,  51;  dynasties,  31;  house  of, 
82,  127;  Moses  fled  from,  152;  of  the  Op¬ 
pression,  80,  84,  86,  164,  169. 

Pharaoh’s  Bath,  seen  from  Nagb  el  Buderah, 

115. 

Pharaoh’s  Island,  at  Akaba,  289,  295;  our 
route  past,  298;  Turkish  troops  at,  295. 

Pharaoh’s  Treasury  at  Petra,  330,  331,  332, 
334-. 

Philistines,  “the  way  of,  261. 

Phoenecia,  papyrus  chronicles  in,  77;  trav¬ 
ellers  route  from,  151. 

Pisgah,  Moses’  death  on,  354;  view  of,  356, 
358. 

Pithom,  built  by  C.  of  I.,  80;  identified  by 
Naville,  80,  97;  quite  close  to  Raamses,  98; 
route  from,  to  Raamses,  94;  starting-point 
of  route,  103,  166;  Thku  mentioned  on  in¬ 
scriptions  found  at,  98. 

Pi-Tum,  ancient  name  of  Tell  el  Mash-kuta, 
97- 

Pococke,  description  of  Akaba  Arabs,  342. 

Port  Said,  de  Lessep’s  monument,  51,  54; 
position  of,  in  relation  to  Sinai,  36;  railway 
line  from,  52,  53;  rifle  deposit  returned,  56. 

Port  Tewfik,  permits  from  War  Office  at,  56. 

Priestly  Document  “P,”  215,  220,  227,  230, 
231. 

Promised  land,  Christian  nations  in,  358; 
Hebrew  history,  26,  88, 140,  152,  244,  246, 
265,  267;  journey  to,  192,  229,  265,  339, 

341,  343,  345,  347,  354- 

Ptolemaeus,  Claudius,  Latin  writer,  156. 

Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy,  95,  221. 

Ptolemy  I,  31. 

Punon,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  346. 

Pyramids,  photos  of,  49;  iron  found  in  Great 
Pyramid,  76. 


Quails,  miracles  of,  20,  21. 


Raamses  (Rameses),  town  of,  19,  22,  80,  91, 
94,  97,  98,  103,  164,  166,  256,  258. 

Raamses  (Ramessu)  II,  canal  planned  by, 
51;  date  of,  128,  134;  Pharaoh  of  bondage, 
80,  86,  statue  of,  97;  temple  of,  97. 

Raamses  III  used  serf  labor,  87,  249. 

Raamses  IV  expedition  against  Hammam, 
at  Hammamat,  124. 

Ra  and  Turn,  Egyptian  solar  deities,  07. 

Rabbath  Ammon,  Mecca  railway,  15. 

Ramah,  worship  at,  336. 

Ramesside  period,  32,  41. 

Ras  Abu  Zenimeh,  seen  from  Nagb  el  Bude¬ 
rah,  1 15;  tomb  on,  no. 

Ras  el  Burka,  headland  on  Akaba,  293. 

Ras  es  Sufsafeh,  traditional  Sinai,  195;  view 
of,  198,  203,  204,  239,  240. 

Rawlinson,  date  of  Exodus,  81. 

Rebecca,  rhetorical  value  of  numbers,  175. 

Red  Sea,  canal  from  Nile  to,  51,  52,  53; 
Akaba,  arm  of,  292,  340;  Idumean  influ- 


Index 


376 


ence  at,  158;  Mecca  railway,  15,  327; 
porpoise  found  in,  248;  route  of  antiquity, 
261;  route,  71,  109,  no,  168,  189,  273, 
341;  seen  from  Jebel  Musa,  240;  shells  of, 
293-  . 

Rekhmire,  vizier  of  Thutmose  III,  84. 

Remamin,  medallion  similar  to  Madeba,  351. 

Rephidim,  battle  of,  161,  167,  169,  190; 
Exodus  route,  145,  146,  147,  149,  152, 170; 
Feiran,  128;  our  route,  17. 

Reterru  (Rctennu),  miners  in  Sinai,  123; 
natives  of  Palestine,  82,  123. 

Rezin,  war  against  Judah,  341. 

Rissah,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  292. 

Robinson,  Edward,  book  of,  265;  at  Hawara, 
69,  71;  biblical  researches,  11,  12,  336, 
339;  exploration  of  Kadesh  Barnea,  262; 
honesty  of  Bedawin,  276;  monks  of  Sinai, 
210;  Mount  Hor,  342;  route  of,  280, 
287;  site  of  Mt.  of  Law,  190, 195, 196,  203; 
visit  to  Suez,  50,  168. 

Roman,  armed  camp  of  Turks  on,  site,  311; 
at  Petra,  330;  chariots  and  war  horses, 
321;  Christian  occupation  of  Sinai,  157; 
Egyptian  population  in,  times,  167;  re¬ 
mains  and  roads,  59,  315,  318,  319,  321, 
329;  rulers  of  Feiran,  157. 

Rome,  foundation  of,  28;  monuments  of, 
protected,  127;  Petra  to  Arabia  what 
Rome  was  to  Romans,  330. 

Rouella,  noted  Arab  tribe,  96. 

Rowland’s  letter  of,  263,  264. 

Rum,  ancient  name  for  Asia  Minor,  283. 

Ruppell,  route  of,  292. 

Russia,  in  Caucasus,  309;  money  from,  for 
Madeba,  351;  on  Mount  of  Olives,  358. 

Russian,  bell  tower  at  Jerusalem,  357; 
certificates,  208;  clothing,  68;  in  desert, 
67,  70;  Jews  and  Zionist  movement,  88; 
military  strength,  184;  pilgrims,  57,  160, 
237,  313;  protection,  211. 

Ruth,  story  of,  348. 


Saint  Jerome,  Madeba  map,  353. 

Saint  Katharine,  traditions  of,  208;  monas¬ 
tery,  156,  157, 198, 199, 203, 205, 206, 207, 
210,  268,  269,  318;  description  of,  207, 
208,  209,  212;  Abbas  Pasha  at,  241;  Bishop 
of  Sinai  at,  49;  greatest  shrine  of,  237; 
MSS.  at,  212;  manna  collected,  160;  pil¬ 
grim  certificate,  208. 

Saint  Petersburg,  Codex  Sinaiticus  at.  21 1; 
papyrus  at,  77. 

Saint  Sapsas,  on  Madeba  map,  353. 

Sakkara,  inscriptions  at,  31,  76. 

Salchad,  Exodus  route,  22. 

Samaritan  at  Jacob’s  well,  358. 

Samuel,  book  of,  169;  “P”  document,  time  of, 
230;  prophet  and  priest,  173. 

Sa-Nekht,  Ethiopian  type  rock  sculpture, 
126. 

Sangarius,  Abbot,  spring  at  Jebel  Musa, 
238. 

Saracen,  invasion  of  Sinai,  206,  208;  rulers 
of  Feiran,  157. 

Sarbut.  See  Serabit. 

Sarbut  el  Jemel,  remains,  114;  route  of  C.  of 
I.,  115. 

Sargon,  date  of,  76;  Semitic  immigration 
during  his  dynasty.  37. 

Saul,  mentions  kindness  of  Kenites,  92; 


“P”  document  existed  time  of,  230;  pur¬ 
suing  David,  173;  reforms  of,  230. 

Sebaita  possibly  corresponds  with  Hormah, 
339- 

Sebek-Khu,  possibly  identical  with  Joseph, 
82,  83;  stele  of,  at  Abydos,  82. 

Seih  Sidreh,  valley  in  Sinai,  115. 

“Seil,”  meaning  of  word,  66. 

Seir,  Mount,  our  route,  16. 

Sekmeni,  name  of  territory  about  Mt.  Geri- 
zim,  82. 

Seleucidae,  era  of,  29. 

Semerkha,  invasion  of  Sinai  by,  41. 

Semerkhet,  rock  sculpture  in  Sinai,  125. 

Semitic,  emigration,  37,  38,  39;  greatest 
goddess  Ashtaroth,  133;  language,  174, 
187,  233;  race  in  history,  37,  39,  223;  ritual 
at  Serabit,  117,  123,  130,  132,  135,  136, 
140;  ruins  near  Jordan,  329;  Sinai  always, 

„  39- 

Senmut,  architect  of  Hatshepsut,  250. 

Serabit  (Sarbut),  chisels  found  at,  121;  ge¬ 
ology  of,  1x9;  inscriptions  at,  252;  mines 
of,  116,  117, 119, 131;  route, 106, 196,  274; 
sacred  stones  of,  130,  131;  Semitic  ritual 
at,  26,  90,  138,  336;  Syrian  miners  at, 
26;  temple  of  Hat-hor,  125,  132,  133,  134, 
137,  138,  140. 

Serbal,  Jebel,  description  of,  144,  150,  189, 
197, 199,  240;  giving  of  Law,  191, 195, 196; 
oasis  at  base  of,  154,  156,  193;  traditions 
of,  209. 

Sesostris,  Canal  planned  by,  51;  visit  of 
Palestine  people,  81. 

Seti  I,  temple  at  Abydos,  250. 

Set-Nekht,  date  of,  128,  134. 

Seyyal  (Shittim),  torrent  tree,  247. 

Shalmaneser  II,  inscription  telling  of  defeat 
of  confederates,  78. 

Shatt  (Esh  Shatt),  landing  place  on  Suez 

Canal,  56. 

Shechem,  Jacob’s  well  at,  146;  Joshua’s 
covenant  at,  228. 

Sheikh  Ali,  accompanies  party,  307, 308, 315, 

319,  320. 

Sheikh  Hammadi,  chief  cameleer,  243,  268, 
269;  Moslem  prayers,  271. 

Sheikh  Musa  Bir  Naser,  introduction  to,  161 ; 
visit  of,  243,  268,  269. 

Sheikh  Salih,  Arab  sacred  spot,  270. 

Shepherd  of  Hermas,  MSS.  of  Codex  Sina¬ 
iticus,  2x2,  229. 

Sherafeh,  Jebel,  route,  295. 

Shittim  Wood,  247;  Israelites  at,  347. 

Shobek,  Crusader  castle  near  Kerak,  31 1. 

Shucair,  Naoum  Beg,  acquaintance  with 
Bedawin,  48;  interview  with,  at  Cairo,  48. 

Shur,  Marah  in  desert  of,  70;  route  of  an¬ 
tiquity,  261. 

Sicily,  quails  fly  from  North  Africa  to,  107. 

Sihon,  King  of  Amorites,  347. 

Sikima,  land  of  Amorites,  82. 

Siloam,  Hezekiah’s  inscription,  176. 

Silvia,  Pilgrim  chapel  on  Jebel  Musa,  240. 

Simeon,  numbers  of,  180,  182;  on  Madeba 
map,  353- 

Sin,  Wilderness  of,  incidents  near,  111; 
location,  no,  111. 

Sinai,  annexation  and  military  control  of, 
41,  290,  296;  Anglo-Egyptian  control  of, 
289;  Arab  shrines,  270,  271,  342,  343; 
badgers  unknown  in,  248;  Bethel  stones 


Index 


377 


at,  131;  birthplace  of  soul  of  Hebrews, 
244,  245;  is  biblical  Sinai  in  Peninsula? 
94,  103,  250;  bridge  between,  36,  40,  50; 
cameleers,  248,  291,  312;  census  of  C.  of 
I.,  164,  178,  182;  climate  of,  248,  249,  251; 
description  of,  200,  201,  204,  265,  292; 
desert  valleys  between  Suez  and,  272,  274, 
275,  292;  earliest  signs  of  intercourse  with 
Egypt,  125,  128,  139;  double  name  of,  145; 
elevations  of  peaks,  24,  25,  118,  142,  150, 
155,  206,  239.  253,  278,  288,  344,  345; 
events  in  Arabia  while  at  Sinai,  328;  Exo¬ 
dus  into,  36, 115,  267;  game  in, 318;  geology 
of,  36,  41,  42,  43,  44,45,  hi,  n6,  119, 
200,  20X ;  Greeks  in,  46;  inhabitants  of, 
45,  46,  57,  iQO,  243,  271;  invasion  of,  29, 
39,  41;  investigation  of,  94,  167,  264,  265; 
Jewish  shrines,  246;  materials  for  taber¬ 
nacle,  170,  247,  248,  255,  257,  284;  meet¬ 
ing  with  Germans,  73;  Midianite  hypoth¬ 
esis,  94,  95,  99;  mines  and  miners  of,  90, 
116,  117,  122,  140,  142;  mining  expedi¬ 
tions  to,  181;  miracle  of  quails  near,  107; 
Mohammed  travelled  by,  327;  monastery 
and  monks,  150,  157,  209,  210,  242,  254, 
287;  Mosaic  code  at,  222;  Moses  at,  17, 
142,  148,  243;  Moses’  knowledge  of,  91, 
140;  MSS.  at  monastery,  26;  pilgrims, 
57,  67,  68,  146,  161,  208;  quality  of  land, 
66,  67;  roads  of  antiquity,  42,  43,  90,  115, 
261;  route,  16,  17,  22,  49,  64,  90,  143,  144, 
145,  160,  163,  192,  196,  199,  200,  206, 253, 
254,  256,  258,  259,  260,  261,  269,  271,  272, 
273,  279,  285,  320,  332;  sublimities  for 
moral  law  giving,  204,  244,  257;  symbolic 
representation  of,  90;  torrent  tree  of,  247; 
wilderness  of  Sin  between  Elim  and,  no; 
wilderness  or  desert  of,  42,  43,  45,  96,  139, 
153,  162,  241;! worship  at,  133,  138,  140, 
33 6. 

Sinai  Peninsula,  changelessness  of,  234;  forms 
of  religion  in,  90;  future  of,  290;  map  of, 
264;  Naoum  Beg’s  journeys  in,  48;  intro¬ 
duction  to,  161,  243;  our  food  in, 65;  patron 
saint  of,  159;  permits  to  travel  in,  56, 
290;  position  of  Mt.  of  Law,  72,  128,  189, 
191,  193,  194, iQ5, 196, 197. 198,  202,  203, 
284;  route  of  C.  of  I.,  163,  258,  260; 
water  and  rainfall,  96,  167,  252. 

Sinaitic  inscriptions,  143,  144,  158,  252,  272. 

Sirbonian  Bog,  north  of  Sinai,  36. 

Sirius,  Egyptian  Sothis,  34,  35. 

Smith,  Prof.  Geo.  Adam,  face  of  kingdom  of 
Israel  toward  desert,  293. 

Smith,  Rev.  Eli,  Arabic  Bible,  12;  linguistic 
help,  196. 

Sneferu,  date  of,  133,  141;  first  to  mine  in 
Sinai,  139;  invaded  Sinai,  41;  story  of  lost 
jewel,  117. 

Solomon,  date  of  temple,  78;  navies  of,  294; 
time  of,  336,  338;  worship  of,  230,  338. 

Sopdu,  God  of  East  at  Sinai,  133,  135,  136; 
shrine  of,  139,  141. 

Sothis,  Sirius,  34,  35. 

Stone  age,  date  of,  75,  76. 

Strabo,  Canal  from  Nile,  52. 

Succoth,  Egyptian  Thku(t),  98;  route  of 
C.  of  I.,  98,  164. 

Suez,  ancient  Idumean  town,  158;  ancient 
fortresses,  290;  boats  at,  123;  boundary  of 
Sinai  Peninsula,  43,  290;  Canal,  15,  37, 
So,  51,  52.  53,  56,  98,  99,  324;  city  of,  100; 


food  and  water  from,  65,  253;  Gulf  of,  100, 
189;  isthmus  of,  50;  mail  route  opened,  53; 
market  at,  276;  Palmer  at,  263;  Robin¬ 
son’s  description  of,  50;  route,  17,  25,  43, 
47,  49,  50,  60,  64,  68,  196,  268,  269,  283, 
287,  288,  289,  298;  shoals  at,  100;  time 
necessary  for  crossing  flats,  168;  train  to, 
49,  52,  53,  245;  turquoise,  126;  valleys  be¬ 
tween  Sinai  and,  272,  274,  287;  views  of, 
68;  where  the  Israelites  crossed,  100. 

Sultan  of  Turkey,  claim  on  Sinai,  289; 
Mecca  railway,  326;  his  highway,  3x9. 

Sumerian  civilization,  40. 

Susa,  Hammurabi’s  code  at,  38,  41. 

Sutu,  coming  of,  to  Palestine,  84,  85. 

Syria,  ancient  route  to,  43,  263,  332;  back¬ 
ground  of  Exodus,  19;  badgers  found  in, 
248;  birds  of,  318;  coast  of,  313;  civiliza¬ 
tion  of,  39,  40,  329;  desert  post,  43;  descrip¬ 
tion  of  desert,  66;  Egyptian  power  over, 
86;  invasion  by  Semites,  38;  Kilawun’s 
conquests  in,  209;  massacre  in,  31;  mon¬ 
astic  movement  in,  157;  sacred  stones  of, 
130;  Semitic  ritual,  117,  132,  338. 

Syrian,  can  also  be  Arab,  Moslem  etc.,  95, 
96;  miners  (Aamu),  117,  123,  124,  125, 
141;  storehouse  at  Raamses,  97 


Taberah,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  284. 

Tabernacle  and  Temple,  art  work  of,  249; 
High  Places  resemble,  337,  338;  mention 
of,  164,  170,  196,  198;  setting  up  of,  247, 
257,  284;  turquoise  omitted  from  breast¬ 
plate  of  High  Priest,  142;  word  means 
tent,  247. 

Tafileh,  ancient  route,  262. 

Tahath,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  292. 

Tahutmes.  See  Thotmes. 

Tartir  ed  Dhami,  peak  of  Sinai,  118. 

Taylor,  Mr.  Earl,  journey  of,  47,  48;  photos 
of,  243;  travelling  companions,  16. 

Telloh,  inscriptions  at,  76. 

Tell  el  Mash-Kuta,  identified  at  Pithom, 
80,  97. 

Tell  er-Retabeh,  site  of  Raamses,  97. 

Temple  of  Isis  (Pharaoh’s  Treasury)  at 
Petra,  332. 

Tewfik,  Khedive  of  Egypt,  289. 

Thku(t),  meaning  Semitic  word  Succoth,  98. 

Thomson,  Wm.  M.,  Land  and  the  Book,  12, 
235- 

Thotmes  (Thutmose  or  Tahutmes),  I, 
father-in-law  of  Hat-shep-sut,  139;  Phar¬ 
aoh  at  time  of  birth  of  Moses,  83;  II, 
husband  of  Hatshepsut,  139;  III,  Egypt 
rules  Palestine  time  of,  80,  86;  erasure  by, 
31,  83;  possible  Pharaoh  of  Oppression,  84; 
pottery,  time  of,  141;  temple  of,  134,  139; 
used  Asiatic  serfs,  83. 

Timsah,  Lake,  canal  cut  through,  54. 

Tiniyeh,  Jebel,  house  of  Abbas  Pasha  on, 
240,  241. 

Tischendorf  discovered  Codex  Sinaiticus, 
212. 

Tjesir  invaded  Sinai,  41. 

Toffteen,  dates,  78,  79,  8r;  “Historical  Exo¬ 
dus,”  230. 

Toledoth,  book,  incorporated  in  Exodus,  228; 
document  “P,”  230. 

Tor,  coastguard  from,  200;  monastery  at, 
46;  road  from,  242. 


378 


Index 


Trajan,  conception  of  canal,  54;  milestone 
of,  318. 

Tripoli  (Syria),  Kilawun’s  conquests,  20Q. 

Tristram,  visit  to  Madeba,  349. 

Troy,  resurrection  of,  32. 

Trumbull,  Dr.  H.  Clay,  volume  on  “Kadesh 
Barnea,”  260,  264. 

Turco-Egyptian,  boundary  commission,  264, 
296. 

Turin  papyrus,  31,  32. 

Turk,  governor  at  Ma’an,  322;  may  be 
Syrian,  Arab,  etc.,  95,  96. 

Turkey,  boundary  of,  211,  287,  295,  296,  298; 
Circassians  in,  310;  turquoise  came 
through,  xi6, 117. 

Turkish,  Arabs,  and  Circassians,  310;  Em¬ 
pire  postal  service,  43;  government,  298, 
3°3,  309;  history,  325, 327;  indolence,  322; 
law  re  telegrams,  305;  ownership  of  Egypt, 
Cyprus,  etc.,  87;  race,  39;  signifies  Asiatic, 
11 7;  soldiers,  312;  territory  claim  on 
Sinai,  295. 

Tyre,  era  of,  28;  our  supplies  carried  through, 
299. 

Tyrian  commerce,  158,  329. 


Um-Shomar,  Jebel,  description  of,  450. 


Van  Dyck,  Dr.  C.  V.  A.,  Arabic  Bible,  12. 
Virgin,  chapel  of,  at  Sinai,  238;  inscription 
to,  at  Madeba,  349. 


Wady  Aleyat,  photo  of,  156. 

Wady  Arish,  boundary  of  Egypt,  289,  295, 
296. 

Wady  Baba  (Seih  Baba),  copper  mined  near, 
248;  route,  1 14,  1 15. 

Wady  Buderah,  our  route,  114. 

Wady  el  Ahsa,  probably  Brook  Zered,  346. 

Wady  el  Ain,  our  route,  254,  286,  287,  292; 
route  of  C.  of  I.,  292,  339;  name  of,  287. 

Wady  el  Amara,  our  route,  69. 

Wady  el  Homr,  our  route,  105. 

Wady  el  Muhash,  route,  294. 

Wady  el  Mukattab,  route,  151. 

Wady  er  Rimm,  route,  199. 

Wady  esh-Sheikh,  route,  150,  199,  270. 

Wady  es-Saal,  route,  275,  276,  277. 

Wady  es-Saideh,  also  called  Wady  el  Ain, 
287;  and  Wady  Weitir,  287. 

Wady  es  Suweiriyeh,  route,  271. 

Wady  et-Hal,  called  Oreis  et  Temman,  shrine 
near,  105. 

Wady  Feiran,  description  of,  145, 150;  events 
in,  147;  oasis  northern  section  of,  155, 156; 
route,  151,  199- 

Wady  Genah,  route,  277. 


Wady  Gharundal,  debris  of  furnaces  at,  252. 

Wady  Ghazalah,  route,  286,  287,  288. 

Wady  Guline,  route,  279. 

Wady  Hebran,  road  from  Tor,  242. 

Wady  Igna,  valley  of  Sinai,  115. 

Wady  Maghareh,  description  of,  118;  route 
through,  143. 

Wady  Muarra,  route,  277. 

Wady  Mukattab,  Valley  of  Inscriptions, 
143- 

Wady  Musa,  Arabs  of,  343. 

Wady  Nasb,  Egyptian  copper  mines,  248. 

Wady  Nebaa,  our  route,  143. 

Wady  Seir,  Circassians  at,  310. 

Wady  Selaf,  Rev.  W.  F.  Holland  at,  252; 
Mohammed’s  resting  place  at,  328;  route, 
199;  view  from,  197. 

Wady  Shebeikeh,  our  route,  105. 

Wady  Shellal,  valley  in  Sinai,  114. 

Wady  Shukaa,  route,  277. 

Wady  Sidreh,  route,  143. 

Wady  Sudr,  meaning  of  name,  66;  our  route, 
63,  67,  70. 

Wady  Taba,  ancient  city  of  Elath  on,  296; 
boundary  between  Turkey  and  Egypt, 
296;  near  Akaba,  296;  route  of  C.  of  I., 
339- 

Wady  Tayyibeh  (Hanak  el  Lagm),  doorway 
of,  108;  mountains  of,  113;  our  route,  106, 
150;  title  of  book,  109. 

Wady  Tumeilah,  railway  past,  53. 

Wady  Tumlat  (Tumilat),  site  of  Raamses, 
97;  Goshen,  166. 

Wady  Useyt,  description  of,  105. 

Wady  Werdan,  our  route,  67,  68,  70. 

Wady  Wetir.  See  Wady  el  Ain. 

Wady  Yetim,  ancient  road,  318,  321;  our 
route,  254,  308,  314. 

Waterloo,  preservation  of  locality,  146. 

Wertu,  sign  of  bended  knee,  title  of  Joseph, 
82. 

Williams,  “Holy  City,”  264. 

Wind  cutting,  stones  in  desert,  63. 


Yorktown,  Washington’s  knowledge  of ,  235. 


Zakazik,  railway  to,  53. 

Zalmonah,  Mecca  Railway,  15;  route  of 
C.  of  I.,  346. 

Zebulon,  Madeba  map,  353. 

Zer,  turquoise  found  in  tomb  of,  117. 

Zered,  route  of  C.  of  I.,  260,  346,  347;  ancient 
Mt.  Seir,  340. 

Zezemankh,  magician,  story  of  lost  jewel, 
117. 

Zidonians,  goddess  of,  337. 

Zion,  Mount,  seen  from  Nebo,  358 
Zionist  movement,  history  of,  88. 


Dotted  line,  -  level  of  Mediterranean  Sea.  All  within  it  belozu 

sea  level. 

All  east  of  waving  line  of  Moab  Plateau  is  2,000  to  3,000  feet 
above  level  of  Mediterranean  Sea. 


Date  Due 

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